A Tale In Breaking Spirits
by TrialLunatic
Summary: In this universe, Xena is a merciless Empress while Gabrielle is a captured Amazon Queen, and the last of her kind. Visit a dark world of power struggles and skillful manipulations. Please read disclaimer for more details. Comments and critics welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note and Disclaimer: **__this idea was originally inspired by the Polar Opposites series made by Lexx223 on YouTube. Many, thanks to Everhope for, not only introducing it to me and for helping get started and inspired for this fic, but also for being there with me the whole way, reading and giving incredibly honest and constructive criticism as well as offering enlightening discussions. _

_In this universe, Xena is a merciless Empress while Gabrielle is a captured Amazon Queen, and the last of her kind._

_This fic is definitely rated for Mature audiences. It contains graphic violence and sexual content, be it consenting or not and be it implicit or not. There is also possible foul language. This is a dark fic, enter at your own risk._

_Alas, I don't own Xena or Gabrielle, or Xena: Warrior Princess, the TV show. I am not affiliated with Renaissance Pictures, or Universal Studios, nor am I making profit off of this in any way. All other characters are original however and any resemblance they may bear to existing canon characters are only coincidental._

* * *

**XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS** (Alternate Universe: Conqueror)

**A TALE IN BREAKING SPIRITS**

**CHAPTER 1**

She was a queen.

She was _the_ queen, and although she wasn't born as an Amazon, she had no doubt that she was going to die as one. She just never expected it to be so soon. Her reign, despite having outlasted all her predecessors', had still altogether seemed too short.

Changes had been sweeping over the nations, it had been a force brought on by almost her alone. She was revolutionizing the ways of the tribes, its social and political systems by encouraging more diplomacy than violence. However, resorting to the latter had never been an issue if the necessity had been present.

She had been queen to all of that and yet now she was powerless and helpless. Shamefully, she admitted to herself: this is where her diplomacy had gotten them. She was too late to realize that her new philosophy had rendered the Amazons weak, that her peaceful ways had crippled their nation.

Her breathing labored dryly through her airways. A trail of sweat mixed with blood slowly made its way down her forehead, settling for one brief and exasperating moment on her pale eyebrow before grudgingly continuing its path through her left eye. Despite the amount of pain she felt everywhere else on her body, both physically and emotionally, the bloody salt drop stung.

She shook her head, in an attempt to get rid of it and blinked several times. As it was, her eyes caught sight of those behind her.

Past the rusting chains linking her arms behind her back, past the chains that led to the choker around her neck, she saw the Empress' soldiers. Greeks and Romans united under one name, one cause, and carried flag bearing the same emblem.

They marched anonymously, their steps disciplined. They marched in wordlessly, and all that was heard were footsteps hitting the ground by the thousands, a perfect imitation of an indecisive and never-ending thunder.

Between each row of men were small rows of her people. Just like her, they tried to march as proudly as they were able to, tried ignoring their injuries and their restraints. Gabrielle felt sorry for them for she knew their fates; she knew all of their fates.

Closing in behind the infantry were soldiers on horseback.

The Amazon Queen had to bite down to keep from letting loose despaired rage and frustration, for the horses were dragging the dead bodies of her fallen sisters. They had been dragging them throughout the entire march, from their sacked villages all the way to the Empress' outposts, where they were now. It had left a long trail of body parts and blood. Some of them didn't even resemble anything human anymore.

None of them will have a chance to pass on because there will be no funeral pyre.

Gabrielle ironically came to appreciate the saying they had for the Empress' accomplishments: Rome wasn't built in a single day, but all led to it by roads of blood.

A quick jerk of the chain from the front end of her choker caused her to stumble forward. Gabrielle glared threateningly at the man who pulled on her while he did his best to seem apathetic. They knew perfectly well her legs were chained together; they couldn't have walked faster no matter how hard they were pulled.

Still, he constantly kept a good few precautionary paces outside her reach. The men were afraid of her and her sisters even when they were defeated.

* * *

Oh, glorious day!

Xena sat in the open tent with what appeared to be poised serenity, but in truth she felt the anxious eagerness bubble inside her like hot oil boiling.

Word had come for her, from one of her generals, that the last of the Amazon lands had finally been captured and that the Amazon Queen herself was within that very captivity. It had made her so delighted that she had chosen to travel down to their outpost with her own regiment and royal council to see it for herself.

For too long these savages had held strong against her, and she had to admit she was drawing near a final effort to deliver the crushing blow. For too long had this Queen held out against her with her sly little forces and tactics; not to mention she had lasted much longer than any of the other Amazon Queens. If she didn't piss her off so much, Xena might've almost admired her.

The Empress sat, wine goblet at hand, surrounded by her advisors and councilmen, two of her generals and a few of their lieutenants. She terribly wished that she could carve her annoyance out of these men with the dagger hidden on her thigh. And she would've done it if only to make the time go faster but she knew her bloodlust was soon to be satisfied.

Her subjects, in turn, all fidgeted nervously while making small talk around the table, occasionally sipping their own wine and eating a morsel or two of fruits or cheese. They were perfectly aware of the Empress' ill tempers.

"How much longer, Captain?" She barked at the soldier who had entered the tent to salute her. Her eyes seemed to have physically pinned him to the ground at the entrance, while her voice had caused one of her advisors to lose hold of a slice of pear.

"We have already spotted the front line of the troupes, Empress," He quickly blurted out, knowing well enough that his life might depend on how fast he could deliver the pertinent information, "we have estimates that they will arrive at the gates at no later than midday."

Her Majesty seemed to have taken the news rather well and leaned back in her chair with a smug satisfaction. "Leave." She ordered the captain, who complied all too happily.

* * *

The gates opened with a mixture of cheers for the soldiers and slanders for the captives. The formation of soldiers marched up to the Empress' tent, before which Xena stood with her subjects and militants. The first row of soldiers dropped to their knees before her and rose only once they were given permission.

Gabrielle and a few of her higher ranked amazons were marched up to the Empress, while the remaining were left among the soldiers. As they neared Xena, the soldier kicked at their knees to make them kneel, and put their heavy boots on their legs to make them stay on the ground.

Xena scrutinized. Finally, they were here and they were hers. Her eyes came to rest on the blonde figure before her, the one who dared to stare back defiantly. She regarded the Amazon Queen with a cold fascination.

"Funny," Xena snorted humorlessly, "I thought you'd be taller." The ones who stood with Xena laughed at her comment somewhat nervously.

The Amazon Queen remained silent in her tattered leathers, but her gold-speckled green eyes were unwavering. Xena's cold blue gaze was merciless, and there the Empress sensed a challenge of wills. They haven't taken her pride away, not yet anyway. The Amazons were not completely defeated.

"Do you have any last requests?" Xena's tone was slightly mocking.

The green eyes didn't move, and no answer came. Xena felt other pairs of eyes from the women kneeling behind the blonde Amazon also lock onto her. She had hardly ever been intimidated in her entire life, but she felt a strange weight settle in her guts.

These savages did live up to their reputation after all.

Xena nodded to the men standing close to the row of kneeling amazons and swift blades sailed through the air. Three heads rolled to the ground followed by the sound of three bodies collapsing. One of the heads had reached Gabrielle's feet and lightly tapped before halting. A few distinct gasps were heard but no screams came. Xena held back a smirk as she looked back to the Queen of the Amazons, trying to see if there was a reaction. The Amazon Queen barely blinked.

"I asked you a question. Do you have any last requests?"

Still no answer came. The remaining women behind her didn't let out a sound either.

"Well," Xena announced to her men, "it seems as though we have captured a band of mutes."

This time everyone save for the amazons laughed, but Xena had had enough of making shows. She nodded to the men again and within a minute, the entire row had become headless. Blood began pooling about the decapitated bodies and the distinct smell of iron became strong. Xena watched the Amazon Queen closely and caught a slight hint of a flinch, while the rest of amazons burst into a roar of fury.

Finally, a reaction. The Empress' heartbeat delightfully quickened. She stepped up to the silent queen and stooped, her hand shot out so fast that it actually elicited a gasp as it closed around the blonde's throat.

"You are trying my very limited patience, you rotten little savage." Xena growled. "I don't take lightly to repeating myself." Their eyes locked again, but after a few moments, Xena felt the gaze of the other woman shift slightly.

"What…" Gabrielle's voice was hoarse through constricted airways, "are you going to do with us?"

Xena smiled evilly. "Did you never hear about my conquest stories?" She cooed at her before her brows lowered and her voice hardened. "I take no prisoners."

She shoved Gabrielle back like a piece of useless garbage and motioned to her men. They cheered as they pulled out their swords, bows and spears, and began the slaughter of what was left of the Amazon nations. This time the amazons did not hold back their screaming.

As the massacre went on and Xena turned to make for her tent, Gabrielle finally let her eyes close, allowing tears of exhaustion overcome her. A man came up from behind her and raised his sword.

"Wait." Suddenly, the Empress spun around, having second thoughts before the blade came down on the Amazon Queen's neck. "Keep that one alive."

* * *

Back in the tent, Xena began packing her things, while her subjects bustled about her like incessant flies.

"Empress, I must protest!" One of the men in a rich navy blue robe and golden embroidery followed her around the tent as Xena busied with packing; she had half a mind to swat him like an annoying insect. "We shouldn't have had them killed. We could've sold them as slaves and made more gold to reinforce our armies!"

"And have them beat their masters to death, Florens? We're talking about Amazons here, they will never obey to anyone's will but their own."

"Then why did you keep the Queen alive?" Another man piped in with a rather snooty and nasal voice, his name was Dama and his demeanor was somewhat calmer than his colleague's.

"Because," Xena said as she regarded them with a dangerous gleam in her icy pale eyes, "I want to test the limits of the Amazon Queen."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The night of celebration was graced with a cool gentle breeze and the temperature has remained comfortable enough for the guests to not complain. There was no question as to what the main cause for celebration was of course, for all the great cities even beyond the boundaries of the land have gotten word of the Final Conquest of the Empress. Rome and Greece were finally, truly and fully, united.

The Empress was surrounded by pleasant chatter and delighted laughter as she paced around the great hall. The red robe she wore hugged her slender form but remained comfortable and breathable. Its color contrasted nicely with her raven dark hair, which was brought up in a regal bun and decorated with accessories of gold and other precious jewels. There was no denying the smug and proud expression she bore that night, and no doubt over how exquisite and beautiful she looked. She was perfectly well aware that her looks were one of the assets that had gotten her this far and kept her popular with the people.

Graciously, she glided through the crowd with a jeweled goblet at hand, as she received compliments and praises, and returned thanks to her patrons and subjects accordingly. The lightheadedness generated by the wine was making her somewhat mellow, which was probably a good omen for the people around her.

Xena usually didn't enjoy being surrounded by packs beyond packs of phony nobles and hypocritical aristocrats who never lifted a finger in their life apart from sending their slaves to deliver the tax money Xena requested. They certainly were never useful for their opinions either, but politics dictated that she needed these pigs and these mongrels if not only just to feed her army but also to keep the rest of the people appeased. Tolerating them was a must.

She just didn't have to be sober when she had to deal with them.

A great burst of laughter erupted from the corner of the room, and knowing full well what was going on there, Xena moved towards it. The crowd parted in feared reverence as she came up to what was the core entertainment of the night, and she grinned once again, unable to hold back her contentment.

The form on the ground before her swayed to shake off a newly acquired piece of rotten fruit, and the chains that bound her limbs to the rough stony ground clanged heavily. More laughter erupted as more pieces of spoiled fruits were tossed at her and as she made feeble attempts to block them. She was still in the same tattered and bloody leathers, but her skin and hair was now half covered in strange hues of brown and grey, courtesy of her tormentors.

The former Amazon Queen was tired, and she was hungry, and the noises assaulting her senses pounded inside her skulls like a hundred battle drums. She felt sick, and she suspected some of the injuries she sustained over the final battle were already getting infected due to lack of treatment. Her limbs and joints were sore, for she had been forced to practically remain on all fours on the floor for only gods knew how long.

She was hardly capable of thinking clearly.

"Ooooh, look at the ungrateful savage, shaking off your generous food!" One of the men bellowed, "You should give her some more!"

"That's a great idea!" The other man replied as he grabbed a handful of more rotten food from a tray that held by one of the servants standing by specifically for that purpose. He took his aim but suddenly froze as the Empress appeared beside him.

"I trust that you are all enjoying my little trophy?" She regarded the fat, old and lazy faces around her.

A round of praise and cheer was her reply. A man she recognized to be somewhat of an important public figure had set a hand on her shoulder.

"We are truly in awe, Empress! Capturing the leader of the savages must've been a great feat!"

Xena only smiled back through half-lidded eyes as the comment was followed by more cheering.

One of the younger men moved closer to the shackled Amazon and lowered his goblet to her face.

"You must be thirsty, aren't you?" He asked her compassionately, offering the goblet to her lips. The crowd watched silently as Gabrielle stared back in momentary confusion. Her mind was a blur, and somewhere deep down, it was screaming at her that it was a trick. But the scent of the drink rose to her nostrils and instinct made her want to accept it. She was ever so thirsty, and without much control over her own will, she slowly leaned in to receive the drink.

A quick flick of the young man's wrist made the dark liquid inside the goblet splash onto her face instead, and the crowd erupted in laughter again.

The laughter was shortly followed by a few surprised gasps however when the young man yelled out in pain. The Amazon had lunged with a feral yell, and held a dirty and bloodied iron grip over his wrist, nails digging into his fair skin. The guards quickly rushed forward; one delivered the butt of a spear to the Amazon's back while the other man wrenched her hand from the young man's arm, the last was stumbling back in mild panic.

"Careful, Mecillius," Xena drawled, "I did warn you she bites." Her comment was backed with several amused chuckles from the crowd. Everyone was still partially observing the guards trying to handle the savage.

A sudden surge of adrenaline made Gabrielle give the guards a hard time but it wasn't long before she caught a foot at the wrong spot in her ribs and toppled over, winded and gasping for breath.

When the pain had subsided somewhat, Gabrielle let her eyes open weakly and they caught sight of the Empress who had been observing the scene in slight fascination, eyes glinting in torchlight.

Once again, Gabrielle let defiance shine through her gaze.

Despite the hunger, the thirst and the pain, the single strongest emotion held in those eyes was evident. It was pure hatred. Hatred directed at her for the loss of her nations, hatred over this indignant display of humiliation, and hatred for Rome.

At that moment, Xena realized that the Amazon's hatred was directed at her and her alone.

Well, that wasn't something she wanted now, was it? No one was allowed to harbor any kind of strong emotions towards the Empress for a long time, she always saw to that.

Her victory was not complete yet. Not even close.

* * *

A wave of cold and wetness bludgeoned her and Gabrielle coughed, wondering if she had been asleep before or had simply passed out.

"It's a simple question, you filthy insect, what is your name?" The voice was strong, deep and angry. A hairy limb flashed by her eyes briefly before the impact and the pain snapped her fully awake.

She grunted, her head drooped weakly as she surveyed her body and found it tied to a cross; she had definitely passed out.

What was she thinking before she had passed out? What had been happening? She observed the drops of water leaving her body and hitting the sand below her and strained to remember.

"You stupid filth of a savage, wasting my time!" The angry male voice boomed in her ear again, but she couldn't readily identify the source.

The whip cracked and a mark was newly carved onto her body. Gabrielle screamed despite herself. A gust of wind swirled by, bringing specks of sand to embed themselves on the fresh stripes all over her torso and limbs. Her mind constantly shifted between giving in or not to, but she had been too incoherent to make a single decision so far.

She couldn't help but notice that there were places on her body that started to stink, though the stench was still less alarming than the one emanating from the mouth of the man shouting at her and whipping her.

The lashes came down twice more, unaccompanied by demands. Then…

"Stop."

The lieutenant turned around to regard the new arrival, before kneeling and saluting. Gabrielle strained to look up.

The Empress stood before them, wearing nothing lavish like she did the night before or when presenting herself in public. Her robe was of a soft peach color and her a single large braid draped over her left shoulder. Flanking her were two personal guards.

Apart from the current occupants, the courtyard was bare. The ground consisted of sand, the buildings enclosing the yard were made of the grey stones. The cross to which Gabrielle was tied to was ironically positioned to shape the letter X.

Xena stared down the lieutenant.

"You're not very good at taking orders, lieutenant. I instructed you to break her, not slowly kill her."

"Empress…?"

Ignoring the still kneeling man lieutenat, Xena walked over to Gabrielle and lifted her face with a rough grip, examining the Amazon in a way not unlike that of a butcher examining livestock.

Gabrielle's eyes were confused and glazed over; the woman was barely conscious. Xena's face turned into a scowl as she caught the familiar smell of untreated battle wounds.

At this rate, the savage would be dead in two days. Xena sighed. Her men were good with killing and executions, but very little of them were adept at the finer arts of torture.

She released the face she was holding and wiped her hand on one of the guards. No, she didn't want this one to die. She wanted to make this one last as long as possible. Her victory wasn't complete until she was able to claim that she had bent the will of an Amazon. Only then will all of Rome and Greece know that no one could stand against her. This was a very important project.

"I'm giving you a chance, queen of savages," Xena's rich voice drawled, "just give us your name and you may live to see a few more days."

When there was no answer, Xena bent over slightly to check, noticing that the Amazon's eyes had closed and her breathing had become harsh. Clearly there was an inner battle going on. She lifted a hand and brought it sharply across the small blonde's face. Startled, the green eyes snapped open and looked at her.

"Who knows?" A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "It may just be enough time for you to avenge your pathetic little nations."

Gabrielle knew the chances of avenging her people within a few days were impossible, but this woman had a point. If she were to do it eventually, she'd have to live long enough first.

She felt the icy gaze still on her, studying her. She felt like they were perfectly aware of what she was thinking. A minute or two must've gone by in total silence.

"Gabrielle…" She finally whispered, hoarsely.

Xena straightened and began to leave, the lieutenant rose as she passed him.

"Cut her down. Make sure she gets food and water and some attention from the healer." She ordered as she headed towards the door of one of the buildings, "From now on, nobody touches her without my supervision."

The last thing Gabrielle remembered was watching the form of the Empress leave, because then her bonds were loosened and she crashed to the ground, and blacking out completely.

The lieutenant wiped sweat from his upper lip and sneered at the small form in the sand. He then grabbed one of Gabrielle's arms and dragged her to a building that led to where the holding cells were kept.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"We shouldn't have been given her food, Empress. She has been gathering enough strength to fight back."

Xena, hunched over her work desk, looked up from underneath somber dark brows. Her desk was littered with parchments and she was tired. Among the mess sat a goblet full of wine and she desperately wished she was able to locate it. She had been so busy socializing for the last two days that she had nearly forgotten about the Amazon.

"What have you been doing to her exactly?" She asked half absent-mindedly, dipping more ink and scribbling on a piece of parchment.

"Nothing, Empress." The advisor approached the desk and set a hand on it. Xena's eyes darted to the hand in irritation before going back to her paperwork. "You had ordered that she would not be touched unless you were there to supervise."

"Well, what the hell are the guards doing to give her a chance to fight back then, dear Florens?" Xena tried to do calculations in her head while half-listening to what the advisor was getting to, which resulted only in her getting annoyed. "Why are you bothering me with this?"

"No-nothing!" Florens backed up, clearly a bit nervous. "She has been lashing out at the guards every chance she gets! S-she's smart and tricks them…" He was mumbling at this point. "She's been uncooperative, I don't even know why we keep her, Empress, she's clearly a threat to-"

"A threat?" Xena barked at her advisor menacingly and he perceptibly jumped, "No prisoner of mine is _ever_ a threat." She tossed her quill aside and marched towards the hallway. "Come with me, call the guards and Lieutenant Tetricus."

Obviously, if she were causing that much trouble, this savage needed to be taught a lesson.

* * *

The cell was damp and smelled of urine and excrement. Strange green and white things were growing out of every corner and crevice, small insects crawled about and explored along the stones. The walls were patchy, painted with light and dark remains of whatever that belonged to other beings in previous occupations. The cell was devoid of furniture or any items that might've been used as a weapon. A few small slits between the blocks of stones served as windows, letting through the night's full moon.

They arrived outside her cell, Xena unlocked and entered, followed by her lieutenant and three other soldiers. Even before Gabrielle had fully had a chance to wake up, she was seized by two of the soldiers and thrown up against the cell wall. Sparks exploded before her eyes and slowly took the form of the Empress and her men. The rude awakening definitely caught her by surprise.

"Beat her." Xena commanded while crossing her arms. Tetricus advanced and delivered hard precise fists to the prisoner's abdomen. Gabrielle coughed and hacked at each blow.

However, Xena did notice that her body had been healing rather well from prior endeavors.

"Water." Xena then ordered. The third soldier holding a bucket of cold water moved forward and tossed it on Gabrielle. The cold made her jerk, which made her gasp and cough more. Her completely stunned and confused look came up to meet Xena.

"Oh, good! You're awake." Xena motioned to the Lieutenant and he drove his fist into her stomach again. A wound at her side that had been healing tore open and blood began seeping out of it.

The pain caused her body to contort so much, that the two guards weren't able to hold her flat against the wall. She dropped onto her hands and knees, and retched, trying to catch her breath in between and not to pass out.

Xena nodded to the Lieutenant again, who came in with a kick when she recovered just enough. He then shoved her to the ground with his heavy boot, stepping on her back to keep her from getting up.

Not that she had enough strength or courage to at that precise moment. Gabrielle felt the uneven sharpness of the ground bite into her cheek and took the pressure on her ribs with gritted teeth. Xena walked over to the gasping form, and grabbed the long blonde hair, pulling up and backwards.

"I don't like it, when people are not nice to my men." She hissed angrily into her ear. "My men are valuable. You, like the rest of your dead tribes, are a piece of trash."

"Then why," Gabrielle coughed, "are you keeping me alive?"

Xena's eyes widened slightly and she glanced towards Florens, who stood nervously fidgeting outside the cell. So, the irritating little blonde had figured some things out after all.

Xena's lack of response made Gabrielle let out a bitter chuckle. And that sound set off something dark inside. The barbaric animal had clearly been too comfortable, and it was time to make things a little different.

"Do you know what we do to break wild horses, Gabrielle?" She shoved the Amazon's head back to the ground, eliciting a pained groan. "We beat them, and ride them, into submission." Emphasis on the pauses. Xena stood up and took a few steps back as she let the meaning of her words sink in.

"I will never submit."

The two soldiers took the cue from Xena to flip Gabrielle onto her back and to hold her down. Gabrielle began to struggle once again.

"NO!" She screamed at them but it only made them tighten their grips. Tetricus began kneeling, and forced her knees apart, pinning them with his own muscular legs.

Then, he undid his belt and pressed in.

"We'll see about that." Xena remained close enough to make her low mutter heard.

Gabrielle screamed again, but her voice broke.

Xena stood and watched as Gabrielle's cries turned into sobs, and her struggling turned into writhing. Each gesture was equally matched by the lieutenant's strenuous grunts.

Florens nervously averted his eyes.

But the Empress' gaze was on her, and unflinching.

* * *

The next evening, Xena came around the cell again with the same three soldiers and the same Lieutenant. She made the wise decision to leave the whimpering Florens behind.

"Are we ready for today's lesson?" Xena sing-songed as she passed, her fingers rattling the bars.

She was in a much better mood today; maybe a simple beating would do. Or if she felt like it, she could make her-

The Empress caught sight of the lonely figure lying lifelessly against a wall as the cell door swung open.

The small blonde's wounds were patched and treated, bruises rubbed down by the healers. Xena's eyes traveled along her body, and settled on a spot of her tunic between her legs. The amount of blood that had seeped through was barely noticeable. Good, it meant that the healers had tended to that too.

Still, something didn't seem right. The taller woman approached and squatted down next to her, carefully watching and noting the regular breathing. So far, the savage's body language did not show that she reacted to their presence.

Xena frowned and tilted Gabrielle's face towards her with the back of her hand.

The Amazon stared up with eyes so clouded they almost seemed grey instead of green. The white of her eyes were bloodshot.

No, this was too soon, too easy.

Xena shot up, suddenly repulsed by the lying form before her. There was no satisfaction in that. She couldn't have broken her so soon, not the Amazon _Queen_. She did not spent many moons planning and plotting against the Amazon nations and then capture their leader only to have her snap like a twig in so little time and under so little pressure.

Her fist clenched, but she knew hitting the girl would hardly have any effect now, or give her the satisfaction that was due.

Xena turned towards her men, her face twisted in a frustrated snarl.

"She's of no use to me today." She pushed past the puzzled gurads and left.

Moments later, in the Empress' chamber, Xena let out an enraged scream as she threw a vase at the stone wall.

* * *

The next day was filled with trips to the nearby outposts for purposes of personal inspections. Now that she had acquired more land, Xena had to redistribute her forces, reassign her men. It was a day full of planning.

In the evening another banquet was being held.

As the festivities went on all about her under the dim veil of torches, Xena remained in her seat, unable to find it within herself to celebrate with the rest of the guests. Both Florens and Dama had recommended to show off the savage again, for appearance's sake. The rest of the council had eagerly agreed with the suggestion, consenting to the fact that it would show the efficacy of the Empress' ways even within the palace and at the heart of her kingdom.

The Empress fidgeted with a loose thread on the large pillow resting underneath her. They were right, of course, all of them.

Florens and Dama, though both lacking greatly in terms of what qualified as benevolent people, compensated greatly by their sly and cunning ways. They were not ruthless and cruel, but they were great thinkers and had no qualms with hurting people as long as their own hands weren't getting dirty. More than once they've come in handy when Xena needed help devising plots and some subtler strategies.

Although entirely aware of their own abilities and importance, the two advisors also knew that their usefulness were only as good as their loyalty, a value measured quite severely by the Empress. Rome was not ruled by a fool – and a cold-hearted woman was twice as manipulative and poisonous than an ambitious man. Xena knew perfectly well how to get rid of them if she felt they were slipping.

So she managed to let herself be convinced that displaying this lame excuse for a rag doll was actually a good thing.

The line of thought me her glance at the quiet sitting form chained to the wall, only a few paces from her.

How come she felt so _embarrassed_? Showing off an opponent who was so easily broken had only meant she had chosen an opponent who wasn't worthy in the first place. If Xena were one of her own advisors, that's what she would've argued.

But then again, she was probably the only person in the room who wasn't scared shitless of herself, and she knew that no one else could see very far past that fear.

Xena was certain she could have just as well taken a roll in the mud at the front of the palace and her people would simply commend the Empress for embracing a free spirit.

She shook her head, masses of dark hair swayed in the motion before settling back down on the silky green fabric on her shoulders. Her eyes traveled back to the savage sitting at the corner of the room again.

Gabrielle sat, unmoving, and unresponsive to any of the noises and taunts made at her. Her eyes stared out blankly in a catatonic state. She didn't fiddle with her restraints, didn't pull at her clothes, she was simply just… there.

Xena's jaws tightened. Maybe she had made the mistake of bringing Tetricus in too soon.

"My Liege," a voice interrupted her thoughts, "perhaps if you were to at least appear interested in the celebration, then you might actually enjoy it more." The voice was accented, yet steady and comforting.

A smirk broke her all too serious expression. Her interlocutor was tall man with short peppered hair, and he stroked his well-trimmed beard as he observed her through slanted, single-lidded eyes. Xena had always been amazed at how those dark pupils seemed so endless.

"Wise yet cryptic words coming from a wise mentor," Xena's frown had visibly relaxed. "And how are you enjoying yourself, Master Bai?"

"More than you, it seems." His strange foreign clothing creased under the strain of flexing muscles as he sat next to her on another giant cushion, but a level lower.

Master Bai was a man who was the complete opposite of Xena: he was the very definition of serenity, and seemed to have patience to spare whenever Xena was in dire need. "Would you like to share what is troubling you?"

* * *

Gabrielle was genuinely annoyed, and she hadn't realized why until only up to the past few candlemarks. In fact, she hadn't been consciously feeling much of anything up until just now. The last couple of days were a blur to her, and even letting her thoughts linger too close to the estranged memory had brought on chilling shudders.

She sniffed, mostly remembering pain. And though the pain had all largely been physical, she recalled a distinct sensation of feeling a different kind of pain _inside _her.

One that had touched her very core.

Her eyes surveyed the faint outlines of the crowd as she searched for that part of her that had been violated, but she shortly understood that it wouldn't ever be found anywhere ever again. It wasn't something she was ever going to get back.

She shifted, fists clenching then unclenching, sensing the recurring anxiety wash over her again and her skin got rather warm. Hints of that pain were still present, but at the same time, a void was created and it was filled with a different sort of sadness.

Before, she had mourned for her lands, for her sisters and her lovers. She mourned for her tribes and for the countless souls lost, but…

The wine that hit her snapped her out of her contemplative stupor and back to the source of annoyance. Her hollow green eyes slowly filled with a vivid hue as they turned sharply towards the man who held the empty goblet before her, the one who leered at her with crooked teeth.

* * *

The crashing sound interrupted something Master Bai had been telling Xena and both turned their attention to the source.

Apparently one of the guests at the banquet had gotten just a bit too drunk and a tad too close to the chained Gabrielle.

Two guards were busy dragging the half-bleeding and howling guest away while two others were busy restraining the small blonde woman, trying to discourage her outbursts with kicks and attempting to wrestle the goblet-turned-weapon from her hand.

Gabrielle roared as she found impossible strength within herself, giving the two guards the fight of their lives. She thrashed, planting a knee in one of the soldiers' stomach while doing likewise with the half broken goblet into the eye of the other less fortunate guard. One of her chains was already threatening to unhinge from the wall.

Images of the past few days flashed by her as she struggled half-bewilderedly.

A third guard joined the fray; this one was a great deal larger than the other two and he managed to slam his fists down on Gabrielle's back, which slammed her to the ground. She groaned from the impact and tried to prop herself up just in time to catch a set of sapphire blue eyes watching her intently from across the pillows.

This hate that she harbored had just gotten very personal, Gabrielle decided.

If the ruthless Empress wanted a fight, she was going to get one. Artemis be damned if Gabrielle didn't take down as many of her men as she could.

But no matter how many lives she would be taking, it would not be enough to bring her sisters back. Gabrielle saw _that _certainty reflected in Xena's eyes.

The moment of hesitation gave just enough time for the third soldier's massive fist to come across her face and it knocked her out cold.

The blue eyes that had met hers twinkled. It would appear that not everything had been lost yet.

The night had turned out to be fruitful after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

The sun flooded into the room and washed over the cascading sheet-covered, elongated forms. Only one of the forms had still been asleep and it was sprawled over the second portion of the enormous bed. The other form had been curled up on its side, pale eyes glowing in the shade, facing away from the morning rays.

Xena liked mornings. She usually awoke along with the sunrise, but she didn't always get up right away. Sometimes, some of her best thinking came from staying in bed, which was rather odd but highly convenient.

A soft knock came at her bedroom door.

"Enter." She called.

Florens' little pudgy form appeared at the doorway, cautiously at first, as if he were sniffing out the danger like a rat. Sensing that he hadn't disturbed anything, he stepped into the room.

"Good morning, Empress. I trust you had a good night?" He inquired cheerfully, rearranging the half-dozen scrolls he hugged closely to keep them from falling. His eyes darted to the other occupant of Xena's bed.

As if on cue, the form stirred and slowly rose, performing all the expected eye-rubbing and yawning. A healthy, well toned body was revealed as the sheets came rolling off. Xena barely spared him a condescending glance. "Go away." She ordered.

The young man blinked and scratched his dark hair, somewhat confused at first, but soon recalled the circumstances. He rapidly made a grab at his clothes and slipped out wordlessly from the servant's door, only too glad to have survived the night and the morning.

"I have to admit," Xena stood from the bed stretching and the advisor flushed at this act of exhibitionism, "I do enjoy the slaves this time around."

It wasn't to say that Florens didn't enjoy the sight; few rarely get to see the Empress bare unless they were the occasional odd servant she would pick on a random night when she felt restless or playful. What was even rarer was the number of people who got to brag about it and stayed alive longafter.

Pleasing the Empress was a simple duty with very simple rules, none had ever broken it. The servants and slaves were rotated at least once every month or two, some were kept longer than others and some simply exchanged roles. Only the more trusted ones were assigned more specific and permanent parts such as cooking or laundering; they were the ones who had Xena's favor and held small privileges. It was such a rare treasure that no one had thoughts of abusing it yet.

As for _pleasuring_ her, the slaves or servants in question were almost always sent away or killed if required. Xena left no chance at risking becoming attached to any of them, or having them become attached to her.

"I had only been disappointed once thus far." She mused, bringing her hair back. Her lazy lascivious smile made Florens weak at the knees as she turned her back to him, circling the bed to retrieve some form of clothing.

"So what good tidings do you bring me today?"

"Several important contracts… and one is actually a treaty; the demands on the other end are rather pricey though." He shuffled through the pile, "I'm afraid none of them are very good."

He approached, handing scrolls to the outstretched hand.

"And here I was trying to keep my hopes up." She smirked half-heartedly, folded the robe around herself and sat on one of the pristine chairs. She unrolled the first parchment and began reading, ordering her breakfast and a jug of milk.

* * *

The long wooden staff had gracefully evaded her honed blocking technique and made a harsh contact just below her knee. Xena winced slightly, but it didn't hurt enough to make her angry. She turned the pain into constructive energy and waved her staff about just in time to block the second attempt at her other knee.

"Perhaps, to test her will, you should be challenging her yourself?"

"Why would I do that?" She dodged another hit from Master Bai and twirled to give one of her own, her black clothing and his white clothing made gray blurs as they simultaneously evaded each other. "What's the difference if I got my men to do it?" She went in for another hit but it had been effortlessly deflected.

"Because she is really, truly fighting _you_, Xena." Master Bai was one of the few who got away with addressing the Empress by her first name, "and not your men." A blow came down at her and it would've been near fatal if she hadn't back flipped to avoid it. The landing was a bit rough however, and she stumbled.

"But I'm standing right there in the cell giving the orders!" Grunted with effort, "I don't understand what you're getting at."

"You have to show her that _you _are in control of her fate, not your men. How do you make a horse obey you and you alone?"

Xena suddenly stopped, coming to the realization. "I have to break the horse myself, with no one else near…"

"Exactly, and she _is_ an Amazon after all, you would be depriving the queen of fighters her true match." He swept Xena feet from under her while she was thinking and distracted. Xena landed harshly and cursed but instinctively rolled to a stand again. "It doesn't really mean anything when you have four other men holding her down to beat her."

"But that's how we've always done it."

Master Bai's brows furrowed slightly, somewhat disappointed at not being able to get the point across.

Xena wanted to take this opportunity to lunge at him, but before she was able to execute it, Florens had burst into the training hall. The breathless man spoke as soon as he was within hearing range.

"Empress! You must come! _Quickly!_"

* * *

They rushed down towards the holding area with Florens at their heels, and darted towards Gabrielle's cell with urgency, towards the source of Florens' panic.

The door had already been unlocked, and Xena's soldiers were inside. She was both surprised and outraged by what she saw.

The Empress and her trainer glanced at each other with mutual understanding.

And like a hurricane without warning, Master Bai disposed of the soldiers standing inside the cell while Xena grabbed lieutenant Tetricus and threw him off away from Gabrielle. He was thrown with so much force that he was momentarily stunned by hitting the stony wall.

Xena was furious.

"_What_ do you think you're doing?!" She roared at the ones who were still conscious.

"W-we were just…" Tetricus scrambled to gather his wits and awareness about him, he quickly pulled up his belt as he fumbled, "we just thought we were having a little fun," He stuttered, and quickly added, "Empress."

"A little _fun_?" Xena was all but amused by his completely useless answer, she barely noticed the bruises on the lieutenant, "You were having _fun_ with my prisoner?" If her gaze alone was enough to kill, the lieutenant might've died about five times over right at that moment. "My prisoner is not for you personal entertainment- Don't move!" She barked at him as the lieutenant tried to face her while still on his knees. The fact that he couldn't see her face made him all the more afraid.

"B-but… I thought," He stuttered again, his hands tried to wildly gesture things that he wasn't able to explain.

"What I let you do before was for the purpose of _control_, you fool! Not for your own pleasure." Xena said as she unsheathed a sword from one of the unconscious soldiers.

"But it's not like it mattered," The lieutenant addressed the rock in front of him, the sound of the blade made it all too clear what was about to happen. He knew he wasn't going to change the Empress' mind; his voice grew calmer as he accepted his fate. "You were just going to take the little whore for yours-"

Silence overcame the prison cell and Tetricus never got to finish his sentence. His head rolled to the wall as his body slumped and plopped over.

"Of course it matters. It's about power," Xena told the headless body, "something you'll never understand."

Xena wiped his blood from her face and let the sword slip from her hand. The clang echoed in the deadening stillness. Master Bai closed his eyes and put his hands together to form a soundless prayer.

As she left, Xena spared Gabrielle a glance; the young woman had dragged herself to a corner, and had seen the event unfold with curious eyes. At least the girl didn't end up catatonic like she did the first time around.

"From now on, no one touches her but me, under pains of death." She began leaving. "Clean this up."

* * *

"Wake up."

Gabrielle's eyes fluttered open, confused that she wasn't greeted by the usual bucket of cold water. For a brief moment, she was convinced that she had been back in the village, in her hut – back at a time and place where none of the war and bloodshed had taken place. Then she looked about her, and her eyes traveled up lengthy legs and a tall body to meet a cold blue gaze.

"Put these on," Xena said, tossing her a pair of shackles, "and come with me."

As Gabrielle followed through the hallways she realized that the Empress hadn't been wearing the usual robes. Instead, Xena had donned some type of black leather armor, but unlike those of her soldiers. Hers seemed to be tailored to fit her figure perfectly, hugging waist and hip. The skirt was made of numerous black leather strips, also military style.

Gabrielle had to admit, it was strange seeing a woman in Greek soldier leathers.

They came upon a massive hall where an entire length of a wall opened up to the outside, the massive image of the Roman city below was intersected solely by repeating Corinthian columns. The hall was empty save for a few guards at the different corners of the room. There were also two weapons rack and a strange-looking man all dressed in white.

The man came forward and unlocked her shackles; as he did so he eyed her inquisitively with small dark eyes. There was almost a gleam of respect in that look.

"Pick a weapon, Gabrielle." Xena said and it was the first time Gabrielle had witnessed the softer side of the Empress' voice. It was odd, almost alien to hear.

She didn't quite understand what was going on and eyed the Empress suspiciously. "What do you want from me?"

"Just a good fight that's all."

It was hardly going to be a fair fight, Gabrielle was aware of that. And she knew that the dark woman standing before her knew it too. Still, she still didn't quite understand the motives behind all this. Was the goal to humiliate her once more?

"I don't have all day, Amazon." The Empress urged. There was an edge to her voice that Gabrielle finally did recognize.

Tentatively, the young blonde moved towards the weapons' rack and inspected it, glancing warily at the guards standing by. Studying the array of weapons, she finally settled with a staff, the bluntest looking arm available. Xena watched with interest, noting that there were far deadlier and more practical weapons on the rack that she could've chosen.

As soon as Gabrielle turned around, Xena came at her also with staff. She had ducked and rolled out of the swing just in time to avoid it.

"Good." The comment was accompanied by a feral grin.

Again and again Xena came at her, and Gabrielle always seemed to be just lucky enough to gather her strengths for a block, and either backed away, sidestepped of rolled. Master Bai had backed into a corner and observed the spar silently. It was pretty obvious that Gabrielle had no desire to be on the offensive.

"Why aren't you fighting back, savage?" Xena taunted her as she came at her again and again, each assault accompanied with a yell. "Fight back!"

"No!" Held fast but dreaded each passing moment that her endurance was going to give out.

Xena's hits became stronger and less merciful, but Gabrielle still blocked them, although just barely. Her joints and muscles ached from the shock and the weight of the blows. She had not been doing any sort of training since the day she had been captured; her body was unused to the full range of extreme movements.

At some point, Gabrielle managed to roll away from Xena, far enough that she was out of range. With an enraged yell, she threw her staff out between the columns. Her cry had both surprised and Xena and Master Bai.

"Why did you do that?" Gabrielle had half expected Xena's voice to be angry, but it wasn't, it was just surprised.

"I don't like the violence." She answered quietly. It was true, she never liked violence.

"You are an Amazon! Your people are made to be fighters! Are you willing to dishonor your sisters in this way?"

"We don't like unnecessary bloodshed." Gabrielle paused, remembering how close to the truth that actually was. "If I gave up on that, I _will _be dishonoring them."

"Well, you're about to learn what it means to dishonor _my_ orders." Xena said as she put the staff away and picked up a whip. "Tie the little savage up in the courtyard."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"What is it, Dama?"

Xena barely glanced up from her scroll, but had sensed the presence of her advisor lurking at the door. More often than not, Dama gave her the creeps and her skin always crawled when he was in her vicinity. She didn't suspect him of evil intentions of course, but he was just a very eerie man.

"I think you had better come see for yourself, your Majesty." He announced gravely.

At the infirmary, Xena looked down apprehensively at the long sheet of cloth, full of incomprehension. Though her movements were steady, she knew that when she sighed, it was shaky.

She tried to tell herself that there must've been some kind of mistake, maybe they recognized the wrong person. Slowly, she tugged on the sheet and drew it down.

Bit by bit, it revealed the bloody and half mangled face of Master Bai, his eyes still half open and his beard smeared in brown and crimson.

"What happened?" She was unable to take her eyes away from the man lying before her and unable to understand just how such a thing could ever occur.

"They found him outside the palace walls, on the side with no gates." Dama's voice was emotionless, though he tried to be sympathetic. "It seemed that he had leapt to his death… or someone had pushed him."

The infirmary was quiet, save for the occasional moan of a pained patient, as she took this in. It was just so hard to imagine anyone being able to get near her late mentor without him noticing it. He had taught her everything she knew, and he was still so above and beyond her in terms of his skills and abilities. No one alive, except for him, has ever beaten her in battle, so this was saying a lot for how impossible it was to kill him.

Yet here he was, dead.

Then, could it have been suicide?

Impossible, Xena's head shook. Mister Bai had agreed to stay in the palace and act as her trainer of his own free will. He was well treated and he was a kind man. Most importantly, everyone held an unquestioned reverence for him. She couldn't see a single reason why anyone would want him dead.

Of course, it was possible that the desired effect of his death wasn't to get at him, but to get at _her_.

The scraping sound of a door opening and closing behind them, followed by heavy footsteps signaled the arrival of a soldier with a strong frame and build. Though Xena only held him in her peripheral vision, she recognized his voice.

"You sent for me?"

Xena didn't, but she knew that Dama must have. The advisor always seemed to be thinking one step ahead. She gave him an acknowledged nod in thanks.

"Alcaeus, find those who did this." She said, pulling the sheet back to cover Bai's face. She tentatively reached out to touch him but realized that she couldn't bear to.

"I will not rest until I do, my Empress." General Alcaeus replied devotedly, and saluted.

Later during the day, a funeral pyre was prepared.

* * *

It was evening and Gabrielle was meditating. She was having trouble calming down as some of the marks left by the whipping still stung, and what little cool air that siphoned through the small slits on the walls was not enough to soothe the burning.

It was like she was suffocating. She missed being in the strong breeze, and being outside when it rained. She missed feeling alive, feeling free.

Xena's punishments had become less regular than the ones she received from her men, and though the processes were still very painful, the lashes almost felt more forgiving compared to the treatments she had received before. Still, it wasn't entirely clear why she was still kept alive.

Being an Amazon, she had been both on the delivering and receiving end of violence and brutality but even an Amazon had her limits. She was starting to feel really worn by the pain and the discomfort.

A scream suddenly ruptured the night's tranquility and tore her from her thoughts. She suddenly felt the marks on her starting to burn again. Climbing to her feet, she peered out the tiny slit of a window she had.

Underneath the moonlight, a tall dark form broke something fragile on what's left of the funeral pyre followed up with an anguished cry. Gabrielle had remembered seeing the ceremony while it was still light, but didn't know who it was held for. Whoever it was must've held a high place at the palace, for the gathering of those who showed up to mourn was quite immense.

As the anguished sobs had turned into quiet weeping, Gabrielle backed away from the window. No matter who it was, that kind of pain and sadness deserved privacy.

* * *

Xena didn't know where she was going, but she just felt like needed to do something, destroy something.

Anything.

Master Bai's last few words to her on their last meeting still echoed through her over and over again. There was so much he still had to teach her, so much wisdom to impart.

Sometimes, Xena felt like he was the only person she could depend on, confide in. Master Bai never judged and always guided. He was dear to her.

Without even an ounce of awareness, she ended up in the holding area.

Gabrielle heard the footsteps and noticed that Xena had shown up with none of the usual accoutrement of guards with her. Not even her advisors were there, or that strange man who helped save her last time. The cell door swung open, Xena didn't even bother to shut it behind her.

There was a sort of primal savagery lighting Xena's eyes, and one look at it caused Gabrielle to back up a few futile yet cautionary steps. Even for the usual cold blooded Empress, she didn't seem to be acting like herself. Her movements were rash, uncalculated.

"What are you-" Gabrielle attempted to question but a fistful of knuckles connected with her jaw and she was sent sprawling to the floor. Before she knew it, Xena was on top of her.

She attempted to fight back, twisted about to try to free herself, but Xena was unbelievably strong, possibly even stronger than any of the guards she had dealt with.

The Amazon tried to worm her way out from underneath but that only made Xena pin her down even harder.

"Help!" Gabrielle shouted out for anyone who might've heard.

She definitely sensed danger, and not of the variety she routinely faced.

"Shut up." The woman overpowering her growled at her, and a choking grasp seized Gabrielle's throat.

Even as she felt Xena's knees crushing her, Gabrielle tried to understand what was happening and what Xena was trying to do. As if to answer her thought, Xena had forced her thighs apart. The sound of the fabric breaking was inexplicably loud.

No, she couldn't be…

Gabrielle's her eyes widened in distress as she felt the entry. Panic began rising in her and her breathing became short and uneven. Her legs, by Artemis, if only she could just get her legs to move…

"Stop!" Gabrielle pleaded as she tried to push Xena off, but she wasn't even capable of it with the arm she managed to free. She couldn't get rid of her, she couldn't… The small amount of blood in her mouth from the punch began making its way down her throat and it made her want to vomit.

But she couldn't vomit, because the grip around her throat tightened. Xena forced even further, ignoring her, not even acknowledging that she heard her. Her longer, stronger body pressed against Gabrielle's ribs so forcefully they were threatening to crack. Her breath was harsh against Gabrielle's ear; a low rumble followed each huff.

Gabrielle heard was her own heart racing but unexpectedly, another sensation began to build. She tried to hold it back, horrified at the notion. It wasn't _possible_, she willed it to go away and the effort made the struggle all the more difficult.

The third time she tried to protest, it was in a low guttural moan.

But even that seemed to have glided past Xena's ears unnoticed. "Savage whore." The voice rasped, full of disdain, and still the motion didn't stop. If anything, it had gotten even more intense.

Gabrielle had soon run out of strength to push Xena away.

Before she was able to gather enough power again, the sensation of an oncoming climax seized her and she bucked. The mixture of everything she felt overwhelmed her completely.

When she had gotten her senses back once more, Xena seemed to have calmed too. The hand around her throat has loosened and Gabrielle breathed in heavy gulps of much needed acrid air. The Empress pulled away, and looked down at Gabrielle, completely lost; the bewildered fire in her eyes had all but gone and was replaced by another type of bewilderment.

Xena was on the verge of saying something, her shocked gaze almost apologetic beneath matted hair.

"I-"

She was interrupted as Gabrielle spat in her face. As if slapped, the taller woman wiped away the bloody saliva and swallowed back down whatever she had almost uttered.

"I hate you," the smaller woman sneered at her, through angry and disgusted tears.

* * *

Xena was reluctant to find Gabrielle the next day, but she still did. She couldn't explain what had happened the night before but frankly, she wasn't sure she wanted to try.

But more important just really didn't need to. Sometimes when rage overtook her, she was quite at the mercy of the beast inside that. It has happened countless times before, why should now be any different?

As she approached the cell with ginger steps, she found Gabrielle doing sit-ups on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Xena's voice was weak because she had not spoken to anyone all day.

The Empress watched the Amazon through the bars and for a moment, she thought Gabrielle was simple going to ignore her. Ironically, she mused about which side of the bars she was really on.

"Exercises." Gabrielle sounded surprisingly distant, surprising Xena with a response when the Empress was expecting none. "It staves off hunger."

"You'll waste away." Xena observed, she noted the already slender form nearing emaciation.

Gabrielle stopped and walked up to the bars, grasping one with a firm hand. Her gaze, so close up, was almost intimidating. "What else would you have me do?" She stared the Empress down. It appeared that Gabrielle had grown bold enough to break personal boundaries.

What had hit Xena wasn't the lack of bitterness in Gabrielle's voice, but rather the brutal honesty that shone in her eyes.

The taller woman said nothing and backed away from the bars. For the first time, she wasn't sure of what to answer.

Gabrielle watched her walk away, before going back to the exercises.

The next day, the young woman's portion of bread and meat had been doubled.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

A thick hairy arm slowly reached for her face. It was unfortunate because while being shackled, Gabrielle was only able to turn her head so far before she was against the wall and unable to evade the drunken man further.

She closed her eyes in disgust as she sensed the foul smelling contact slowly becoming inevitable.

Suddenly, a vicious hand caught the man's wrist, stopping him dead. Confused, he first studied the long slender fingers curled around his arm before his eyes traveled up the length of the arm, to a youthful yet stern face with blazing blue eyes.

"I wouldn't do that," The smooth silky voice came from the Empress herself, "or did you forget what had happened to the last guest who tried to toy with my little pet Amazon?" As she finished, her eyes darted momentarily to Gabrielle.

"No, Empress. I mean, yes, I remember. I'm sorry, Empress."

A satisfied smirk lifted on one side of her lips. "There's a good man. Now go frolic along with those women who want to be touched over there." She pointed with her chin.

It was another useless night of celebration, another dull evening with the dull people. Xena held back the tears as she remembered that the only person she enjoyed conversations with was gone. She held her goblet out as a servant magically appeared to fill it with more dark liquid. As long as they kept coming and she could stay numb, everything would be fine.

As opposed to the previous parties, the bursts of laughter and eruption of conversation seemed to have been replaced by hushed murmurs and conspicuous glances.

Luckily, she knew it was going to be the last banquet for quite a while.

After the party, Gabrielle was lead silently back to the cell. As she stepped in, she turned to the Empress holding out her arms, glancing stoically to the guards standing behind the taller woman. Xena personally unlocked the shackles.

Escape wasn't possible, it was never possible.

Gabrielle turned towards the pile of straw at the corner as the door clanged shut.

"You were rather well-behaved this evening."

She turned.

"So were your guests."

The air was peculiar, there was almost an uncertain sort of thickness to it. Gabrielle couldn't quite place it, but she definitely felt it. She noticed Xena avoiding her direct gaze, though her stature and presence did not lose meaning.

"I believe you've made quite a lasting impression the last time about not liking to be touched." The tone wasn't reproachful, it was almost amused and most of all, still confident.

Gabrielle snorted. Was this some kind of attempt at light conversation? Was the Empress' mood as deviant as her cruelty? Or did the recent loss – the one she had learned about during the banquet – somehow play a part in this slightly more lenient composure?

One thing was for sure, an Amazon never backed down from a challenge. It was a habit turned into instinct.

"I think your word is even stronger than my impression." Somewhere at the back of her mind, it occurred to her to ask why exactly Xena had put a ban on her being touched. It wasn't as if anyone cared.

"Oh, why's that?"

"Because you are a murderer," Gabrielle stated firmly, her eyes lit up with fiery green as the pair opposite hers snapped to, "and a tyrant." She didn't know why, but she almost wanted to provoke Xena. "All your people fear both of those." She wanted to provoke her into reacting because the subdued-ness was unsettling.

It didn't take however, and all Gabrielle managed to do was make the guards behind Xena shift uncomfortably. The Empress herself was unmoved, her face impassive.

Then the taller woman gave what almost seemed like a respectable nod, before she walked off. Gabrielle sighed and slumped against the wall, seeming to let out a breath she had been holding all evening.

Never, had she felt so many conflicting and odd feelings within herself.

From the shadows of a pillar near the cell, even out of Gabrielle's line of sight, Dama lurked, watching the Empress and the guards disappear down the hall before taking leave himself.

* * *

Xena was still in the evening robe she wore to the party as Dama entered the chambers. A jar of wine sat on her working desk as she held the half emptied goblet loosely between her fingers.

"Dama," Xena said, twirling the small dagger in her other hand and studying it, "Do you see me as a murderer and a tyrant?" She asked as she sensed him slinking closer.

"No, of course not. You treat your people and subjects well, you-"

"But I have slaughtered to conquer land –" a little of the liquid from her goblet spilled, "in fact, I've killed many with my own hands, would you not agree?" She had to admit, she was rambling.

"Well, yes…"

"Does that not make me a murderer?"

Dama hesitated. He was obviously at an impasse where he might risk the wrath of the Empress whether he answered one way or the other.

"Her majesty did what was necessary to put order to a chaotic nation." He finally surmised after a small inner debate.

"And then proceed to rule it with a merciless iron fist?" The words were pasty, there was a hiccup. Xena reached for the jar to fill the newly emptied goblet in her hand.

"Her majesty brings about a very strict sort of justice, yes." Dama conceded.

"Hmm…"

"My liege, are you not becoming rather obsessive with this savage? Why do you care what she thinks?"

Xena suddenly looked to him with very soberly. Sobered, but tired; it was beginning to show under her eyes.

"I don't." It was perhaps time to stop drinking. She put the goblet down and began undoing her hair to relax her scalp.

Dama sighed and shifted, observing the ground uncomfortably. It was his job to keep the Empress out of trouble, and to keep her happy. Should he fail to do either or both, it might result in a much undesired manner of death for him. It was always a risk when he questioned her judgment, but it was usually necessary lest the lack of his interference was transformed into some sort of loss.

"Empress, I really must express my concern," he pinched the bridge of his nose, as if the force alone would block off the oncoming headache, "why are you really keeping her around? What is her use now?" He stiffened as he saw the Empress taking an interest in the letter opener that was resting on her desk, and took a few precautionary steps back.

The item glinted in the candlelight as Xena fingered it thoughtfully.

Dama was right, now that Gabrielle had been 'broken' and displayed enough times to convince everyone else, there really wasn't any reason to have her around. The Amazon was an extra space to occupy, an extra mouth to feed, and she had to dispense extra men to keep her guarded. There was no _logical_ reason why she would still keep the Amazon around.

The only reason she could think of, as a matter of fact, was because she wanted to.

"Personal amusement."

It wasn't quite amusement that Xena was thinking, however. There was just something about the Amazon that she couldn't quite figure out. Something she sensed deep down, that she hadn't quite broken her completely. There was still a type of… energy there. And if anything, Xena didn't felt like she had come close to brushing that at all, and it seemed to grow each time she saw her.

She wanted to understand it and, if possible, break it or take it from her.

It was intrigued her in a very risky and dangerous sense. The kind of hazard she liked dabbling in.

"Very well, my liege." Dama said, bowing. "But should this personal amusement start to tread out of bounds…"

"You have my permission to have her removed without my consent but only if my judgment become affected," Xena said, without much conviction that the latter would occur. She had always been the master of her own emotions and whims. "As always."

* * *

The footsteps were muffled, and faint. Normally, it would've gone by unnoticed, but for someone who had been trained to hear them, and for someone who had been used to the silence for this long, those footsteps were nowhere near inconspicuous.

The sun was barely up when Gabrielle opened her eyes to the visitor. She was not surprised to see the Empress' form outlined in the shadows.

Though she was far from happy to see her, the fact that it had been Xena who showed up brought a strange sense of relief. Yes, she was her tormentor. Yes, she was the one keeping her captive and had her tortured and raped. But over the past few days, having Xena as the only visitor and as the only conversation partner had made her… easier to look at than a stranger would be.

Xena had become a known face, a known voice and, most of all, a _known _threat.

Also, Xena had not touched a single hair on her or let anyone touch her since that night.

"Good morning." Gabrielle forced herself to mumble as she sat up from the straws, rubbing her eyes.

Xena's shadowed formed moved into the graying light, the expression on her face frowning with uncertainty.

She was caught off guard by the greeting, and Gabrielle chose to regard it as a tiny victory on her part. Xena's emotions seemed to show more when they were alone; perhaps the Empress just didn't see a single Amazon prisoner as a threat.

"I thought you hated me." It was as if she could feel the resentment even from a few paces away from the bars.

"Why are you here?" Gabrielle neared as close as she could get, her eyes narrowing.

"I'm… not sure."

Then there was silence. And an uncomfortable shift from one leg to the other from one of the parties.

"Just so you know, there are other things that I hate more than you." Gabrielle wondered why she was throwing her the bone.

"What are they?"

That was a good question. Xena was what Gabrielle hated the most. Not _who_, but _what_. She hated entire phenomenon of the Conqueror and the Empress and her rule and her empire and her people. She hated all of it, she reminded herself, not just the person.

Or she _had_ hated it, rather.

So, in order for that hate to have gone down a step in the ladder, there must've been something else more despicable to take its place, right?

Yet she couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"I'm betraying everything that I used to be to stay alive." Gabrielle was semi thinking aloud, and paused to measure her words. "But now I want to stay alive more than anything."

"Even if you're going to be locked up here forever?"

"I'm not going to be locked up here forever."

Gabrielle sounded so certain she had almost convinced herself, and she knew Xena was trying to understand what she meant.

* * *

Dawn, again.

Gabrielle opened her eyes to the same vision as the day prior and pondered whether she had merely been having a premonition in her dream.

"I need to know something." The shadow said before advancing into the light.

Gabrielle sat from the pile of straws and rubbed her eyes, yawning, duplicating what she had done just the day before.

"I have no knowledge that is of value to you." She did, however, choose to remain sitting today.

Xena closed the distance between herself and the bars, and she squatted to be at eye level.

"You used to have shamanesses in your tribes."

"Used to." Gabrielle emphasized reproachfully.

"You must have learned some of the things they know."

Xena wasn't exactly known for beating around the bush, but Gabrielle certainly wasn't going to help things along. The fact that she just woke up reinforced the monosyllabic-ness in her speech.

"Some."

"Look," Xena tried to think about how to phrase it, licking her lips pensively. "Master Bai had an apprentice, his name is Bato. He has a fever that won't go away and the healers we have did all they could." The next part was possibly one of the most outrageous things Xena would ever hear herself ask, considering the person she was addressing. "We were hoping you might know something that can help."

Bato was an orphan found on the streets of Rome. Xena would have thrown him to the slavers if Master Bai hadn't insisted on taking the child in. Since then, he had been learning the arts alongside the Oriental man and the two had developed quite a tight bond. Xena never cared much about the boy, but knew Master Bai considered him as a son of sorts. The child was shy, but otherwise very gentle and polite, he mostly lingered about the palace but never got in anyone's way.

On the odd occasions that Gabrielle had seen him pass by it the halls, it made her recall and miss a life of innocence she had lead once, in a small insignificant village. Before the Amazons. A time when she still had a father, a mother, and a little sister. A time when she knew nothing about war.

And now, Xena was trying to care for this child, because it was all that was left of Bai.

So she was going to help him, because she wanted to. But she was inadvertently and indirectly going to help Xena in the process.

"Let me take a look at him."

Xena took the shackles from the wall and unlocked the cell gate.

Only mere hours after Gabrielle had tended to him, Bato had broken the fever and had recovered almost completely after a few days. All this happened under the Gabrielle's care and instructions.

She had been allowed to remain in his chambers as long as she was shackled, but when Bato was back to full health, she was put back in the cell.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

The day was not starting well at all.

It had viciously begun when wild horses captured only a few days prior had broken loose from the stables at a very early hour in the morning – if it had qualified as morning at all. The sun was just barely rising before the beasts were recaptured and re-stabled, and the arrest for the man who had built the weakly supported structures had been made.

Xena had to personally helped recaptured the beasts as well as dealt out the punishment and fine.

She barely had time to sit down and summon for breakfast before Florens had hauled in a small heap of paperwork, in which two were requests for emergency reinforcements, one was a trade proposal for a captured roman general and another was a petition concerning taxes imposed upon the citizens. A quick meeting had been called to summon all her advisors and possible solutions were quickly exchanged. Important decisions were promptly made. Messengers and small armies alike were immediately sent on their ways.

By that time the rather large group of townspeople who had signed the petition was at her palace door and Xena had half a heart to send for the catapults. Instead, she made do with her palace guards and regulated crowd control, while the leaders of the group were hastily escorted to her throne room.

Inside the throne room, the doors were shut tightly while Dama very crudely explained the reasons for the taxes to one leader, and very threateningly recommended the reconsideration of their cause. At the same time, the other two leaders were stabbed and put to hang from crosses at the palace doors in order to provide an example for future demonstrators.

Xena had personally attended to these proceedings as well. Very reluctantly.

Contrary to popular belief, she did not relish in the death of others. She enjoyed personally dealing the violence and taking part in the fight; the death and the massacre were merely the unfortunate consequences of that simple pleasure.

Ordering the execution of people was anything but tasteful in her opinion. In a sense she had become a slave to politics, and it was wearing her down.

It was constantly kill his person, kill that person, execute them, torture them, but she never got to deal any of it anymore because any action by her own hands held too much _significance_. Things were nothing like when she started out, and she loathed the fact that everything was constantly overanalyzed, where meanings in decisions and gestures were sought when there were none.

"… Empress?"

Xena felt a small surge of irritation as her musings were interrupted.

"By _Ares_, Florens, if you tell me that the priests at the Parthenon are on strike or something similar, I'm going to personally carry out genocide." She wanted the day to be done.

By this time, the sun was all the way in the sky, and Xena had been hard at work at her desk.

"It's the servants, Empress." Florens said with his usual fidgety motions, "Some of them have been found… dead. Again."

"Hmm… murdered?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Not by my orders?"

"No."

"Is this what you interrupted me for?" Xena felt something in her beginning to boil. "Can't the chief of security take care of this? Why am I being bothered for something so _trivial_?"

"We have found a… pattern, your majesty. To the murders. " He yelped and jumped backwards as Xena abruptly pushed the chair back and stood. He gulped so hard that one could've been fooled into thinking he swallowed his own Adam's apple. "They were all the ones who had… been bedded by you this past month."

"Alright, so they just saved me the trouble of killing them myself. You know I don't always keep them alive anyway."

"Empress, we have reason to suspect that you might be a close next target. Whoever was responsible was making sure that the ones who would not betray you were out of the way and making you aware of that. Perhaps this is some sort of warning."

"So you're saying whoever is next might be…?"

"Possibly, Empress."

"Then have the entire staff replaced. This must not get out as public knowledge."

"We do not have enough slaves in stock to replace even half of the staff, and the traders have just passed this month. And we can't afford to scare off the perpetrators by doing something so rash. Besides, you have more who will be loyal to you if most of the palace people remained, my lady."

"I don't like this, Florens." Her fingers rapped on the table at great speed. "These killers are costing me a lot of money and energy."

"Which is why we should be catching them as quickly as we can, Empress." He approached, head low.

"Then what do you propose?" Sharp eyes turned to him.

"A trap. With live, expendable bait perhaps, your majesty."

* * *

By the time Florens had rushed back to the cell with enough guards, Xena had already had Gabrielle held against the wall and was bashing in the smaller woman. She was hard to hold down however, and didn't leave out any hits of her own. Xena was forced to repeatedly slam the Amazon's back against the wall and was subject to a series of painful kicks, punches and clawing of her own.

"Empress! Might I stress that fact that in order to have a live bait, the bait must remain _alive_!" He gestured towards the guards urgently as they tentatively approached the furious woman.

"I can't help it if the little Amazon bitch isn't cooperating, Florens!" Xena barked as she delivered another blow to Gabrielle's stomach.

"Go to Hades!" The smaller woman coughed out violently and shoved a knee into her aggressor's stomach in revenge, which caused the Empress to drop her and double over.

The palace guards took this chance to separate the two women, dragging the enraged Empress out of the cell and throwing the fuming Amazon further back in. They slammed the gate shut and Florens took hold of the key – for the time being.

Xena was trying to calm down as she limped a few steps in an attempt to pace, but then decided to stand still because it still hurt quite a bit. "That vicious little savage isn't going to help us!"

"Well, not with the type of incentives you've been giving."

"What are you going to do with the boy?" Gabrielle asked, approaching the bar but not getting too close. She was having trouble standing straight as well, and winced as she moved her arm to grip the bars.

Both green and blue gazes turned to the boy standing in the corner who was wiping blood indignantly from under his nose and staring at Xena with a not exactly friendly look.

"He tried to help you, and for fraternizing with a prisoner, he will receive thirty lashes." Xena's lethal cold eyes didn't leave the boy's face.

"I'll do what you want if you lift Bato's punishment."

"Why do you care so much about him? He is no useful ally of yours."

"He tried to help me." There was a lot of weight put in that statement, and Gabrielle made sure it sounded that way.

"How do I know I can trust you to keep your word if I keep mine?" Xena hissed.

Gabrielle turned a challenging gaze towards her. "You don't."

The Empress considered her options. "If you make one false move against me, the boy's punishment doubles."

Gabrielle nodded. Xena's eyes traveled down her body, inspecting the damage she had done. "I'll send a healer."

Then she proceeded to slowly limp away.

Florens regarded Gabrielle curiously as the Amazon glared back. Her altruistic behavior towards the boy was almost interesting. What was more interesting was the fact that the boy had chosen to interfere at all, on behalf of the savage.

There was something about that her that seemed to attract both the boy and the Empress' attention. He'd have to consult with Dama about that.

"Come along Bato, let's get that nose looked at." The advisor said as they, in turn, left.

* * *

The next day, after a little convincing by the joined forces of Dama and Florens, Gabrielle conceded to being escorted to the Empress' chambers.

When Gabrielle slammed the door behind her, a form snapped to attention from the bed. The sudden movement had caught her off-guard and even startled Xena a little from where she sat working at the desk.

It had been another one of the servants, a woman this time. As if seized by panic, the servant bounded off the bed, grabbed her robes and shuffled hastily towards the servants' exit, blonde wavy curls bouncing on her bare back in her frantic flight.

They both watched her, one with amusement, and the other with curiosity. When the door was completely shut, Xena gestured for Gabrielle to sit. The smaller woman was pensive about the quick retreat.

"You know, there used to be a time when I believed that you couldn't have sex without love." Xena explained nonchalantly when she saw Gabrielle's expression.

"What happened?" She turned away from the door and took a seat, and took note of the still visible bruise she had left on Xena's cheekbone.

"I stopped believing in love."

Gabrielle didn't know what to respond to such a random and odd comment.

"I apologize for yesterday." The topic was quickly changed, after a slightly awkward silence. "I had a bad day and I took it out on you." Xena's tone was suddenly sincere.

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is the motive." A chanced glance, then back to the papers. "I can't let my personal emotions drive my actions."

Gabrielle considered the statement as it seemed to make sense only in the most outrageous way. It made Gabrielle realize that Xena's unpredictable decisions and ill tempers had been operating under a rationale of their own. Xena might've relied a large part on instincts, but in order to rule, she had to combine that instinct with careful calculation.

Perhaps there were methods to her madness after all, so to speak.

"So can you tell me why the apprentice of my former trainer chose to help a prisoner and enemy of Rome? Or will I have to torture it out of him?"

"I suppose he just," Gabrielle paused, "likes me better than you."

Bato had come to visit Gabrielle every once in a while ever since she had saved him from near death. She enjoyed the company, and appreciated talking to someone who didn't regard her with contempt for once. Though Bato was still just a boy, Gabrielle suspected he might have developed a slight crush on her. It was very endearing and almost harmless, apart from what happened the day before.

The Amazon studied her surroundings; it was incredibly different from anything she had known. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Like I said before, I need your help." Xena set down the plume she had been scribbling with. She stood up and walked towards the sitting Amazon but didn't sit down again. Her tall figure towered over the smaller woman.

"Sadly, my chambers are more private than the prison cells for us to discuss. But also, I need to make them think that you are here in more favorable terms, which is why you were escorted with very little guards."

"Why me? Who's them?" Gabrielle made sure to show that she wasn't intimidated by the Empress.

Xena was slightly annoyed by the questions, but she figured she might as well let her known anyway. "Some of my more… healthy servants have started to die very unnatural deaths." She began, "My extremely nervous advisors are beginning to think that there's some sort of evil plot against me."

Gabrielle scoffed inaudibly. Surely no plot made _against_ the Empress could truly be evil.

"You are a face that none of them has seen among the staff before. Either that or you will be recognized as my prisoner. Either way, you will catch their attention. And unlike my servants, you know how to defend yourself." A knowing smirk. "You will be assigned to a side chamber later at night. This information will be subtly circulating throughout the palace in order make believe that we are aware, but only taking minor precautions about my… special servants."

Gabrielle's eyebrows rose slightly. She wasn't sure what type of risk Xena was taking here. Was the cost of a live bait worth the Empress' reputation and an only a slightly lower risk on her life? Xena's advisors might've misjudged Gabrielle, but she knew the Empress herself had seen and known more, and was certainly no fool.

"The killers would visit you there since they will think you to be alone."

"But I won't be." Gabrielle asserted, making careful note that she wasn't going to be supplied any weapons for self-defense.

"No, you won't."


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

The room was a lot brighter than what Gabrielle had been used to in the past couple of weeks. The window was large, and the moonlight gently nudged at the thin curtains with a little help from the gentle breeze.

It was also devoid of smell, _she_ was devoid of smell. Well, apart from a slight tinge of flowery spice that was barely perceptible to an oversaturated olfactory sense.

It was luxury even beyond the Amazons, and she dreaded what it was costing her just to spend a few candlemarks in a room such as this. Even if it was only temporary and against her will.

She brought her hand to her left shoulder and rubbed diligently yet futilely, then made another attempt at the side of her torso.

It was useless, as useless as scratching an itch under one's skin. The robe made her itchy, and every extra piece of fabric or clothing that touched her made her feel like she was being prickled or strangled. If they had really wanted to torture her, this was probably the most efficacious way.

She had been bathed and groomed, and the healers did their best to treat the cuts and bruises, reducing them to barely visible patches on her skin.

She had also been relatively well fed, or hadn't exactly been on the brink of starvation anyway, since the day her meal portions had been increased.

Overall, she didn't look too bad, she thought, as her reflection in the lengthy mirror nodded back at her in agreement

Gabrielle heard shuffling from the side of the door that connected to the Empress' chamber, and saw the thin line of light underneath it go out. Xena must've been preparing for bed, or pretending to anyway. The assassin would not be audacious enough to go through the Empress's door directly, so that left the door that opened up directly into the hallway to watch out for, although that door had always been locked. And there's always the large window to keep an eye on.

Taking her cue, Gabrielle strolled to her own bed, a bed larger than any she had ever dreamed of sleeping in, and climbed in.

* * *

Gabrielle's eyes snapped open as she heard the shuffling of footsteps and immediately lunged at the source of the sound. Her mind was still a bit hazy but her body reacted instinctively towards the assailant.

She was unexpectedly blinded by a flood of light and during the confusion, a heavier form moving faster than she gripped her and pinned her to the ground. She gasped mildly in surprise though her sense of danger had receded for some reason.

"Relax, he didn't show up."

Gabrielle couldn't tell whether the near transparent eyes staring back at her were disappointed because he didn't show up, or because she was still alive. She secretly cursed herself for having fallen asleep, for this embarrassing moment, and then for strangely noticing that Xena's dark hair was draping loosely over one shoulder, barely touching hers.

"You may remain in this room." A single, exasperated sigh. "Guards will be posted at the doors and meals will be brought to you." Xena pushed off her. "Under no circumstances are you to leave here – my men are under the instruction to kill you on sight outside of these four walls. Do you understand me?"

Gabrielle remained on the floor, still looking slightly baffled.

Without waiting for an answer, Xena took the door that led to her own chamber and slammed it behind her.

"Well, good morning to you too…" Gabrielle muttered under her breath as she passed a hand through ruffled blond hair.

* * *

If she were able to occupy herself in an empty cell with a bed of straws, she was surely able to find something to do now, in a lavishly furnished bedroom.

Sadly, Gabrielle couldn't deny that she was bored. Truth to be told, she has spent more occasions being locked up in dingy cells than she has being confined to a palace bedroom. The unusual environment was slightly disconcerting and her senses were overwhelmed and confused by the excess of color and materials.

She paced towards the large window and looked down into the same courtyard she had only been looking up into days prior. Not much was happening, save for a few servants combing down the sand with rakes to cover dark blotches.

The courtyard was devoid of crosses, and no bodies were being dragged away. Overall, it must've been a good day.

Gabrielle wrung her hands, an anxious gesture she hadn't had the habit of upholding for years. It seemed silly how it was coming back now.

Only not long ago, her own blood had stained that courtyard. The grains that were marked from her torture sessions were probably by now buried and scattered along with countless other grains.

In the end, every one of them were all just grains of sand; important in masses, but individually, they were no different from the rest and easily discarded.

Ultimately, they would all eventually dissolve into that mass again, becoming unmarked, forgotten.

* * *

She watched her from the opposite end of the room, tray held in both hands. The meticulously carved and fitted door behind her was closed with barely an audible scratch.

Xena watched the slightly angled profile of the smaller woman staring out the window carefully, inquisitively. There was something so serene about the way she looked.

It seemed almost like Gabrielle possessed an inner force that did not stem from pride or discipline. The strength came from a source that had nothing to do with being an Amazon. Maybe that's why the little savage was able to hold out this long, and stay sane. Maybe it was because she was so different.

Maybe that's why she kept her alive, to find out just what exactly it was.

In that candid moment Gabrielle's guards were lowered, and Xena almost sensed an ethereal warmth emanating from her. It made her almost wish she could simply reach out and touch her, maybe get infected by some of that aura. Maybe cleanse herself a little.

Perhaps if she hadn't decimated the Amazon nations, or maybe if she had given up her pillaging altogether during her warlord days, then she possibly would've met Gabrielle under quite different circumstances.

Xena suddenly felt like she needed to break loose from those thoughts and that silence. This moment had to remain a secret. The Empress does not have regrets.

"You better not be thinking of escaping through that window."

The voice startled Gabrielle but she tried not to let it show. In all her years with the Amazons, no one has ever been able to sneak up on her like that, especially more than once.

Slowly, she turned, the fabric shifting around her body made her want to scratch herself mad.

"I wasn't." The very thought was absurd. Unless Gabrielle had a very long rope, or had learned to climb perfectly smooth walls, the only place she'd be going from that window was to her death.

"What were you doing then?" Xena set the tray of food down on a low table. "Pondering the meaning of life?" She offered sardonically.

"Something like that…" She regarded the tray curiously.

"I believe the guards are too afraid to come close to you unless they have to," Xena began answering Gabrielle's unspoken question, "and I don't trust any servants to not have the food poisoned."

"So… you prepared a meal for me, personally."

"Enjoy it while it lasts, it may be the last you'll get." The statement was so literal that it sounded like a concluding remark, one that usually accompanied a swish of Xena's robe before she would exit.

But Xena found herself rooted in place.

The fact that Xena wasn't leaving made Gabrielle start to sweat. Or maybe it was the fabrics. There was just something unusual about the way the Empress was acting. Perhaps the palace environment just made everyone act differently, compared to the dark holding cells.

"Gabrielle, why do you think I do what I do?"

"You mean by setting this trap to catch you servants-murderer?"

"No, I mean _rule_ the way I do."

"Why are you asking me? I am not one of your subjects, I have no concern for the state of your Empire."

"I'm just asking for professional opinion. You used to be a ruler yourself, no?" The second part of the sentence was meant to sting but it was more out of reflex and not intent. "But, maybe… you might be all that is left of an Empire I would've preferred to rule to be honest."

"Well, it's a shame you didn't leave more of my kind around, perhaps there would've been more to rule." The conversation was starting to make Gabrielle bitter.

"Perhaps." Xena paced towards the window and stood next to Gabrielle. She looked out, noting the clean courtyard. Maybe she could have someone whipped later during the day. Soldiers and servants who were busy with tasks tended to think less and not let their minds wander.

"Why don't you humor me?" She said to the smaller woman beside her.

Gabrielle took a moment to think about it. It had been entirely tempting to tell Xena that the only reason she ruled like that was probably to have an excuse to be a bitch. At this point, she probably could've gotten away with it because nothing horrible was likely to happen to her until they caught the perpetrator.

Still, she pondered the question seriously.

"I suppose," Gabrielle didn't move away from the window though she definitely felt a tension on her personal boundary. "You're just trying to make a difference. Like everyone else."

Gabrielle noticed that Xena was wearing a loose robe, and possibly not much else underneath. Perhaps the layers of clothing that she was made to wear were simply a new form of torture after all.

The taller woman nodded at the answer and turned towards Gabrielle. "Is there anything else you need?" she attempted.

Was it really that important? Surely Gabrielle was already more comfortable than she had been. It was a ridiculous question, especially since the Amazon was in no position to make demands.

"Those scrolls on that table, may I read them?"

But maybe sometimes a little harmless exchange was okay.

"No one's stopping you."

* * *

It was night again, and this time Gabrielle made sure she stayed awake.

She had spent the day sitting around, reading the scrolls and was surprised to find that Xena possessed a collection enriched by many famous storytellers and prophets.

In was frightening almost, to find out that the vicious Empress was after all, human. Though she was nowhere near as relentless in torturing her anymore, or even just deriving pleasure from watching her being tortured, Gabrielle still wanted to believe that Xena spent most of her time only wanting to hurt people.

She had been lying motionlessly, until she sensed a shift in the air around her and quickly rolled out of the way.

Soon she was on her feet and ready, and pounced at the shadow that had swung a knife at her, tackling it to the floor.

No doubt having heard the raucous, Xena burst in from the next chamber, assessed the fight but made no move to interfere. She paused as she stepped towards a small object that fell out from the assailant's belongings and picked it up to inspect it.

The trinket was a small round metallic coin, with four strange symbols embossed on each side of a square hole that was in the middle of the coin. A red string was lassoed around the hole to turn it into a makeshift necklace.

She recognized it as the necklace Master Bai wore, a relic something he had kept from his homeland and would not have parted with no matter what. This meant that somehow the assassin was connected to Bai's death.

"Who hired you, fiend?" Xena demanded of the man.

By now, Gabrielle had him on the ground and his own dagger was embedded in his chest, just not quite fully. The man wheezed from the pain but he made no attempt to fight the blonde woman off. He made a painful grin, showing a row of red and ivory.

"Not all of Rome or its cities believe in the Empress' rule!"

Gabrielle looked up from her victim to the tall form, waiting to see whether a decision was going to be made.

Their gazes locked. It was faintly reminiscent of the first day they had stared each other down. There was that battle of confidence, and intentional defiance. But on top of it, there was a certain kind of mutual appreciation of a woe shared between rulers.

"We are not friends." The blonde woman said, her hand wrapped firmly around the dagger in the man's chest.

Xena's jaw tightened. "I understand."

Gabrielle forced the dagger down, and elicited a gurgled cry from the man's throat. A twist of the weapon silenced him completely.

She left the dagger in the body and got up, wiping the blood on the sheets and going back to her bed. As she brushed by Xena, it suddenly seized the darker woman to ask.

"Do you still hate me?"

The smaller woman paused, then got in between the sheet, uncaring of the dead man lying and bleeding on her floor, or the Empress standing only a few paces away in the dark.

"No, I pity you."


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Xena desperately wanted to say the words to send Gabrielle back to the cell. Now that the whole ordeal was done, she knew it was the best and only solution.

No, the best solution was to have her executed cleanly and immediately.

It had been a decision she had agreed upon from the start.

Except nothing of the sort came when she opened her mouth.

"You may remain in the side chamber, for now."

Her order seemed to have surprised everyone including herself, but she caught it just in time to give Florens and Dama glares that forbade them to explode in protests. Gabrielle remained silent and slightly confused, but she didn't object. Xena wasn't exactly sure if it was a good sign; everyone knew that the Amazon wasn't short on honest and unnecessary opinions.

The taller woman retreated to her own chamber, with two fuming advisors hot on her trail. One of them slammed the door once they all entered. Though all three knew their conversation could easily be eavesdropped upon, none of them cared.

"Your majesty, you are making a big mistake!" Dama.

"You can't possibly be thinking about keeping her here!" Florens gestured to the side chamber.

"I'm letting her stay only to make sure that there aren't anymore people trying to assassinate me."

"That is a lie and we all know it!" Dama again. "You are keeping her for yourself!"

"Empress, the Amazon has far outlasted all of her uses," Florens implored, "she has been humiliated, tortured, displayed, and used as bait. There is no more reason to keep her alive! It's a wonder she survived this long, please execute her before it's too late!"

"Hold a public execution if you must! One final victory for the Empress of Rome against the Amazon nation!"

"I have _destroyed_ the Amazon nation! A public execution will mean nothing!" Both Xena's temper and nose began to flare, she suddenly wanted to get out of the room very quickly.

She made for the door that led into the hallway.

"Has Her Majesty gone _mad_? What are you keeping her for? She's a threat!"

"She is not!" Xena wanted to bring up more convincing arguments but thought of none.

"Maybe she had been working to gain your trust," Florens' tone was reproachful, "which she had successfully done, it seems."

"Perhaps Her Majesty's starting to lose her reasoning because she is manipulated by a little savage without knowing…" Dama's voice became conspiratorial.

"Yes, yes, perhaps that filthy thing's cast a spell on Her Majesty, one of those Shaman tricks…"

"Enough."

"Please, Empress…"

"Listen to reason, we only mean well for-"

"Enough! I will not hear more of this today!"

Xena pulled and slammed the door behind her before either man had a chance to reply, leaving them both stunned and agitated in her room as she stormed down the hallway.

* * *

The market was crowded, every corner bustled with people, and Xena found it to be just noisy enough to drown out the different voices in her head. Among the voice, one echoed strongly what her two most trusted advisors were expressing.

Get rid of the Amazon. She was danger. She had no more purposes.

Not everyone on the street might've recognized her, but her sheer height and stature made most passerbies cower and navigate around her with large winding turns. This has always been a problem with Xena; people constantly acted like they were going to get eaten if they got too close to her.

But Gabrielle didn't, despite having probably the most reason to.

Maybe that's why she kept her around, because she treated her – not exactly like an equal, but she didn't put her on a pedestal either. Gabrielle was able to talk to her like a human being devoid of that fear of being decapitated or eviscerated.

In truth, Xena did consider Gabrielle as someone of an equal rank when they were at war, and even now the young Amazon didn't seem to have given up on that impression. And now that she was a prisoner… well, all was fair when it came to war.

She was willing to concede that if she were in Gabrielle's shoes, she'd have gone half mad by now.

Swerving around an old couple who couldn't manage to get out of her path in time, she continued brooding and shuffling between busied merchants, housewives and errand slaves. And paused when she felt a tug of her robes.

Looking down, she saw a little girl to be the perpetrator of the pulling, her hair was of a hazel-brown Xena once had. The girl looked at her with such intent and determination before turning that Xena decided to follow her through the crowd.

It was hard to keep up with such a little form in such hectic streets, but they hadn't gone far before the girl slipped into a tent. Xena followed, and held the flap up at the entrance, scanned about to make sure it wasn't a trap and that she wasn't being watched, before entering.

As she had expected, it was dark. The room smelled of incense and, as the Empress let her eyes adjust, was filled with vases and jars containing many substances that belonged to things that were once alive.

She looked about, searching for the little girl that had lead her here, but instead found a single old woman sitting on the floor in the middle of the tent.

Though it had been far from the first time that Xena had encountered strange situations, she couldn't help from feeling a little alarmed, and berated herself for having left the palace in such haste that she carried no weapon with her.

"She left from the back after having received the reward for her task." The old woman simply reassured her. Her voice was strangely smooth, lively and a lot younger than her physical appearance let on.

"What do you want, Sorceress?" Xena stepped cautiously towards the old woman to get a closer look at the face under the leather hood. It was odd because Xena found herself unable to read, or assert the woman, unable to get an impression the type of person she was and whether she was a threat. She definitely sensed some sort of elemental force at work here.

"You guessed right, Empress. I am a Sorceress." The old lady smiled, and as she looked up at Xena, her eyes were milky and devoid of pupils. A confident yet warm smile spread across her lips. "Sit." The old woman gestured to the cushion opposite hers.

When Xena hesitated, she laughed.

"Don't tell me the Mighty Empress of Rome, Conqueror of the Northern Lands is afraid of a frail old woman like me?" She gestured again. "Sit, sit! I won't bite or hex you, I promise."

Reluctantly, Xena took the seat, having no real reason not to.

"You two share something that had been growing since the day you met." The old woman began without prompt or introduction, "and every day you see each other, it grows stronger." She nodded to herself.

The comment caught Xena off guard, she leaned forward, "Us two? Who? Who's the other?" She felt like she had a faint notion of who the Sorceress might be referring to, but feared the answer.

"In time, you will recognize her… if you haven't already."

Xena felt a tug inside her chest. She had always hated cryptic messages, though she knew that not even the messengers themselves often knew enough of what they were talking about.

Still, the ambiguity of it all made her uncomfortable. She felt like this woman was feeding off of her confidence and self-assurance.

"You're wasting my time, old woman." She started getting up, wanting to disrupt whatever force that was at work. She did not like that feeling of vulnerability, especially when someone knew more about her than she did.

She needed to leave. Dama and Florens were probably having fits by the dozens now.

"The time to come to a decision is nigh, Empress." The old Sorceress called out to Xena's retreating back. "Choose wisely or you will lose her again and forever this lifetime." As Xena's form disappeared behind the flaps, she muttered under her breath, "you have already missed an opportunity once, years ago."

* * *

Dama and Florens were giving her the silent treatment once she had gotten back to the palace. The quiet had lasted well on into the evening, something Xena did not complained about.

That night, Xena trained by herself, bathed and retired to her chamber. The palace was noiseless, the streets were relatively silent; it had been the a first uneventful night in a long time and yet, Xena's mind kept on turning over and over what had been said by the old Sorceress.

She pondered until she had unknowingly slipped into a deep sleep.

It wasn't long before she awoke with a start, but quickly realized that she couldn't move. Gabrielle was straddling her, pinning her down and holding a blade to her throat.

The smaller woman had been regaining a lot more strength for the past weeks; Xena had noticed but had knowingly done nothing about it. The Amazon was a lot swifter and quieter too, than she had anticipated too.

Or maybe she let her guard down. Xena went back to the memory of earlier when she felt like the Sorceress was pulling intangible energy from her. Maybe she had been weakened.

Either way, if she didn't regain control soon, she wouldn't last very long.

A dangerous glint lit her pale eyes.

"Go ahead, do it. Kill me." She managed to sound like she was ordering Gabrielle around even when she was the one at blade's point.

Gabrielle stared at her vehemently.

"I'm not a murderer." Gabrielle wanted to establish before she actually committed to the act.

"Are you sure about that?" Xena smiled sardonically. "What about those you killed in your past little wars? What about the Roman and Greeks you had slain on the battlefield? And that assassin you caught? You are a murderer," she pressed her neck upward against the sharp weapon, just enough to draw a bit of blood without flinching. "You're just like me."

"I am _nothing _like you." Gabrielle was insulted, Xena began seeing an enraged look in her eyes. Perhaps if she got her distracted enough…

"You have a goal, Gabrielle, and you stopped at nothing to get to it. That is exactly what I do, what I would've done in your place. So I commend you."

"You killed my people!"

"And you've killed a lot of mine."

Tears began to build in Gabrielle's eyes and the grip she had on Xena slowly loosened. It wasn't a reaction Xena wanted, she expected rage and loss of control. It would've been easier to react to, a lot more excusable when she will have taken her out.

The blood on her neck had begun crawling downwards, tainting the collar of her tunic.

"The minute you decided to kill me for revenge, you became like me." Xena pushed, her voice remaining low and dispassionate. "It's sad really. I had really been hoping to see the diplomatic side of the Amazon Queen." She found herself unable to grin at this victory of wits.

The knife withdrew from her neck and clattered to the floor.

Gabrielle brought her hands to her eyes and tried to cover her face. Still unable to move, Xena closed her eyes in turn, breathing a small sigh of relief at the close call.

When she opened her eyes however, she was rudely greeted by a slap across the face.

Wanting to prevent further treatment of the same kind, Xena took hold of Gabrielle's arms knowing that in brute force, she was definitely stronger. Gabrielle struggled, tried to thrash and break free.

What was the Amazon planning on doing? Did she expect her to stay still as she slapped her to death? It didn't make sense.

Xena watched the tear-streaked face before her as they both wrestled. Behind the emerald green eyes and the blond hair, she saw mostly confusion. The woman didn't look like she knew what she was doing. She just seemed taken over by so much pain, so much that she didn't know what to do with it.

She caused that pain, Xena realized. She caused this breakdown. She couldn't even think of how to calm Gabrielle once she did break loose.

So instead, she pulled her in, and planted her lips on hers.

For a split second, Xena thought the world was ending. Gabrielle had stopped fighting and all she felt were breaths and heartbeats counting towards nothing.

Then she thought the lips pressed against hers were returning the gesture.

But it was over too quickly for anything to be definite.

"You're sick." Gabrielle's voice was filled with repulsion as she pushed off, sans slap. "Do you think I'm one of your servants?" Disgust was lining every syllable.

Xena sat up, just as upset and taken aback by the level of revolt Gabrielle was expressing. "No."

"I'd rather be dead than... than…" Gabrielle was at a loss for words as she tried to describe what had just happened. Instead, she made for the door that led to the hallway. Her only option at this point was to get out of the palace as fast and as far as she could.

"Don't leave." Xena commanded. She reached for a piece of cloth on the bedside table, poured wine from a jug to wet it and pressed it against her neck. The cut wasn't deep but it stung, and despite herself, she did wince this time. "I don't want to wake up half the palace to have you locked up again."

Gabrielle looked at her in disbelief. "I just tried to kill you."

"I know."

"Usually that warrants a hanging."

"Not unless you try again tonight, which I don't think you will."

Gabrielle seemed to be debating with herself, weighing her options in the dark, and finally gave a barely perceptible nod. The expression on her face wasn't readable, but her shoulder perceptibly slumped.

"What if I changed my mind?" Gabrielle's eyes rose, meeting the Empress' and a sob rose to strangle her voice.

She walked towards the bed decidedly. She wasn't sure whether she was about to cry for all that had been done to her, what she almost did, or what she was going to do.

This was the last piece of her she thought she wasn't going to give up.

But the truth was, she would rather not die. Not for her nations, not for her sisters, but for herself. She wanted so much to stay alive, and feel alive again.

"I don't think you will." Xena calmly watched her approach, never breaking eye contact and trying to read what was going on in Gabrielle's mind, and tensed when she sensed what was coming. She saw the tears streaks glistening down Gabrielle's cheeks and knew she needed to stop it before it was too late.

But, try as she did to coerce her will, she couldn't stop it. She simply sat there on the bed, hand pressed against cloth, against her neck and watched Gabrielle inch closer by the second.

She couldn't stop thinking about intensely beautiful this woman was.

About this woman, who leaned in to kiss her with a strength she's never felt before and then pushed her down onto the sheets. This woman, who was undressing her, and touching her in ways she never would've expected.

Xena breathed sharply; she couldn't help herself from reacting, and wanting, even if it was supposed to be so wrong.

Gabrielle didn't make a sound, but Xena felt the tears hit her bare skin as she fucked her. She was witnessing the Amazon losing control, finally, and it _was_ beautiful.

It was making _her_ lose control. And she willingly accepted to be a part of that, be subject to that.

It felt unfair, she felt guilty.

But she couldn't stop it.

* * *

_Next Chapter: Concluding Chapter! Author__'s notes will be included at the end._


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10 (Final Chapter)  
**

Gabrielle woke up to find Xena watching her quietly from a resting chair next to the window. The very thought that she was being observed while she slept gave her a chilling sensation, but she refused to let it show.

To be honest, she was surprised she was still alive.

"What?" She asked awkwardly as she saw the contemplation in Xena's eyes.

"I was just thinking maybe I've seen you somewhere before… all this." Her hands attempted an encompassing gesture.

"Perhaps in our previous battles…" Gabrielle sat up but made no move to get out of bed, or leave the room. It wasn't like she had anything better to do, or places to go, not anymore.

"No, I mean before that. Before you became an Amazon."

Gabrielle suddenly sat a bit straighter, her green eyes lit up sharply with alertness. "How did you know I wasn't born an Amazon?"

"You don't really think or act like one, you lack the mentality." Xena said matter-of-factly, she had that look where she was seizing her up, studying and evaluating her.

Was she that easy to read after all? Gabrielle couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and looked away, feeling heat rising in her cheeks. Or perhaps it was just Xena who was especially adept at guessing people.

Still, she couldn't quite figure out her own position in the middle of all this. Did she manage to buy herself more time? Or was she going to finally get executed after the friendly interrogation? Xena's calmness and lack of edge made her paranoid.

"What village did you come from originally?" The voice was soft, very unlike the Empress' usual tone.

It made Gabrielle really want to answer, because it felt like she actually cared. Perhaps this was the way Xena was in the morning, although the servants who constantly fled in terror wouldn't be able to confirm the fact for her.

"Poteidaia."

"I think I was near Poteidaia once…" Xena's eyes veered off as if reminiscing on an event in the past.

Gabrielle took a deep breath. "When you let me stay in that room next to yours, you knew I would try to kill you eventually." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I did."

"But you did it anyway, why? Why did you do it if you knew you couldn't trust me?"

"Part of me wanted to say that I didn't know what I was doing. But it's mainly because I trust your nature. I trust who you _are_." Xena smiled, shaking her head as she thought of the previous accusation she made, "and you are not a murderer. You're not like me."

Gabrielle caught a hint of an envious sadness in the Empress', she wasn't sure if it was in her eyes or in her tone of voice, or both. That in turn made her a little bit sad too.

Gabrielle herself wasn't a murderer – not to begin with. She used kill only when it was necessary. But now, she was probably willing to kill for lesser reasons. She _did_ almost murder Xena out of revenge, the sense of revenge that went beyond just plain Amazon honor. Somewhere during all this, she developed a bloodlust.

As for Xena, she most probably started out killing for more selfish reasons – to gain rank, maybe wealth, and then power. She had made it so far into the game that killing eventually became a necessity for self-preservation.

Ironic, how between the two of them, they've gone full circle.

"But why did you choose to take the risk at all?"

"It beats reading all my scrolls over again."

Gabrielle nodded, feeling that perhaps, something did change. Perhaps in Xena, or in herself. Or something between the two of them.

A moment of awkward silence marked the other topic they were avoiding to discuss.

"Xena, last night…"

The chamber door chose then to swing open and revealed Florens. He had begun saying something, but upon spotting Gabrielle sitting in the bed, he came to an abrupt halt. His small beady eyes glided questioningly towards the shape of the Empress lounging in a chair nearby.

The two women, noticing his entrance, both casually turned to regard him.

Florens tried not to look like he was frowning. Was it he who found this sudden turnout bizarre or was it strange that the two women before him didn't?

"Well? What is it Florens?"

"Uh- ah…" He began, clearly very distracted and bothered by Gabrielle's presence. "I've just received a few scrolls that you might want to look over, nothing too urgent." Why was the savage even here, and in the Empress' _bed_?

Then his eyes caught the glint of the morning light reflecting from a blade on the floor, its sharp edge just barely lined with a rusty red hue. Once again, his eyes darted to the Empress, who had drawn a scarf around to cover her neck.

It was for certain now, the Empress had gone mad. The Amazon must somehow have her under some spell. Even now, the manipulative little savage sat there like some innocent tortured creature…

She needed to be rid of, without Xena's interference. Xena herself gave them the right to rid Rome of potential threats should her judgment be clouded. It seemed to Florens that the Empress' mind had been quite hazy lately, and the threat had grown past the point of just being potential.

"I must excuse myself, Majesty. I have a meeting with some of your subjects."

"Is it anything that I should attend?" Xena made to get up.

"No, Empress," Florens quickly reassured with easing hands, "just some minor details that you shouldn't be bothered with."

As Xena sat back down comfortably, he cast another weary eye on Gabrielle before closing the door behind him. The blonde eyed him back just as suspiciously.

* * *

"Something must be done, Dama, and soon!" Florens fidgeted.

It wasn't unusual that council meetings only held the two top advisors. They were the top decision makers after all, and very wise men. Most of the time, the rest of the council were too eager to agree to their decisions either way. All those other minor cretins managed to ever accomplish successfully was deplete the room of good air and generated unnecessary body heat.

"Yes, I understand the urgency of it. We've only barely gotten rid of that trainer Bai and his stupid ways of peace…" Dama pondered aloud as he paced calmly back and forth. The constant movement helped him think. He was missing something here, something crucial, but he couldn't quite grasp it. His hawk-like shadow, cast from the room's single window, transposed onto the stone wall and created an ethereal monster that patrolled back and forth along with him.

"It wasn't even the fact that she had tried to murder the Empress." Florens frowned, his gaze internal, searching through his last observation. "That would've solved our problems and given us the chance to put the blame on someone. It's the fact that she didn't finish the job _and_ the Empress let her live."

Dama stopped. "Are they forming an alliance?"

"I found her in the Empress' bed this morning."

"Ah." Dama nodded knowingly.

Florens shook his head as he thought back, remembering Gabrielle staring back at him from the bed. "But she _had_ tried to kill her, that I'm certain." He thought about the knife on the floor, "and instead of punishing her, her Majesty let her sleep in the royal bed."

"Hmm…" Dama responded as he paced again. "Obviously the Empress felt comfortable enough to let the Amazon get that close in the first place…"

"Close enough to bed her? I don't understand, Dama. I mean, savage as she may be, that girl isn't exactly unattractive. The Xena we knew a few years ago would've jumped at the chance to defile her in any way she could've conjured up." Florens sighed, shifting his weight. "But for some time, Xena hadn't touched her, or allowed anyone to touch her for that matter. Yet I found her there that morning, and the girl didn't look scared or traumatized at all. It was as if Xena had been waiting for Gabrielle to go to _her_."

"Ah Florens, you are truly the naive one." Dama chuckled dryly, suddenly realizing what he was missing. "Can't you see that Xena is losing her edge, my friend? Our Empress is growing tired, and she is seeking comfort and companionship in unlikely places. She is seeking trust in unstable and dangerous people." His turned to Florens as if he had just understood something. "This is the perfect opportunity to take it all away from her."

"So what are we going to do? We barely got away with pushing Bai off the wall, and it was by chance that we found that assassin to take the bait."

"We'll have to get rid of the Amazon ourselves. If Xena is starting to value her as much as I think she is… then the loss of that savage will hurt her."

"And then?"

"And then it won't take much more to shift the wind in our favor." Dama turned a predatory gaze towards his colleague, making sure that he was understood.

Florens nodded, and gulped.

"And without an immediate successor, the council is in charge until a new fitting one is appointed." The smaller pudgy man offered.

"Yes."

"We must start as soon as possible." Florens said a bit shakily.

"Yes, let's call the guards." Dama replied smoothly.

* * *

The market place was quieter this time and the sun had cast a lazy light through the streets. Though still full of people, everyone seemed to go about their daily routines with less urgency. Xena brushed through the crowd briskly, knowing exactly where she was headed this time around.

The sorceress appeared to be in deep concentration when she entered the tent. No attempt was made to acknowledge her arrival. Xena snorted at this lack of attention; usually people scrambled to find her feet to grovel at when her shadow was even within the vicinity.

"Old woman, I require your services." She sat down opposite the sorceress without invitation.

The old woman swayed slightly but went back to being still again. She was frowning and in deep meditation.

Xena looked around the tent and noted that nothing had really moved since her last visit. Slow business, or a front? Her hand tapped on her knee and she licked her lips. The tent gave her the creeps even on a repeated visit.

"Sorceress, I don't have all day."

As if on cue, suddenly, the old sorceress grabbed Xena's wrist, and her milky eyes shot open.

"The time to act is _now_! Danger to the one with whom you share the bond!"

Xena recoiled slightly, startled.

"What are you talking about?"

"Those who seek to destabilize the Empress have finally figured out a new way to tip the scale!" The woman's voice was hoarse compared to last time. She raised frail venous hands and began shoving Xena towards the exit of the tent.

Xena jumped to her feet, hearing the urgency in the sorceress' voice.

"Who are they? Who is trying to destabilize me?" She grabbed the old woman by the shoulders and shook her not too gently.

"You must go! Go save her!"

Xena jaw set tightly as the 'her' helped confirm what she had been thinking all along.

"They are taking her now! Go!"

But even before the Sorceress had finished, Xena had left the tent and had broken into a mad run towards the palace.

* * *

"Xena?" Gabrielle asked as she heard the chamber door open.

"No, the Empress is no longer in the right mindset to make decisions about you."

Without warning, a large noose lassoed and tightened around Gabrielle's neck. It choked her as she was yanked backwards, dragged off the bed and across the floor towards the door. Her hands shot up instinctively but they were quickly forced back with many pairs of arms.

"We thought we gave you ample chances to murder the Empress. We thought we gave you enough reasons and enough time." Gabrielle knew she recognized the voice but she barely had time to register that it belonged to Dama's.

The Amazon grunted in response and she kicked at the guards.

"But now… Now, you truly are useless to all of us."

Her answer was in the form of a guttural roar as she attempted to lash out, but her head was snapped aside by a swinging Roman boot. It dazed her and made a wide cut in her cheek.

The proceeded to drag her out of the room and down the hallway in a half strangled state.

"We fail to understand your newfound loyalty towards Xena," this time, it was Florens, "but we can assure you, it won't last very long."

The soldiers continued dragging her down the hallway and she tried to break free again but was only beat and kicked continuously once more. This time, it left her barely conscious.

When they reached an intersection that opened up into three other hallways, a high pitched wail suddenly echoed through the corridors, freezing everyone in place.

It was a cry that Dama and Florens have rarely heard before, and one that the guards have only heard of in ghost tales.

It made everyone look about nervously. The cry sounded like it could've originated from any direction.

Without warning, a dark form dropped from directly above them, and with a feral war cry, it grabbed one of the guards holding Gabrielle and sent him crashing into the wall. It grabbed the sword from the sheath of the second guard holding Gabrielle and sent that guard flying down one of the hallways as well.

The remaining guards quickly got into an organized formation to face their assailant; with two holding Gabrielle behind them, and the two advisors standing near the unconscious Amazon.

The shadow facing them raised its head to the torchlight and revealed the Empress' face amid semi-disheveled dark hair. Dama's eyes narrowed and Florens whimpered before taking off down the hallway in a frantic run. The guards simply looked confused.

There was an eerily sadistic grin forming on Xena's face. "I smell… _rats_ in the palace."

"The Empress has gone berserk! Restrain her!" Dama cried with a pointing finger.

Three guards charged. One went for her head, missed it by inches and instead, snapped the band holding up her hair. The dark mane cascaded down freely and made her look even more animalistic. The man responsible was soon lying on the ground in his own guts, quite thoroughly disemboweled.

The other two guards lunged at her simultaneously, but she had fluidly swerved out of the way. She followed the swerving with a flip that landed her behind them.

As they turned, one of them readily lost his head to a flash of Xena's sword and the other followed his companion to the ground after having his throat sliced open.

The two guards holding Gabrielle dropped the unconscious Amazon and fled in terror. The woman collapsed to the floor with a barely conscious grunt.

Dama, seeing that the battle was lost, began turning his back to flee. After a mere few steps, he crashed face forward into the stone hard floor, eyes wide shock, blood trickling from between his teeth. The sword that was previously in Xena's hand was now embedded in the middle of his back.

Once everything was still again, Xena seemed to have snapped out of her berserk trance. Her eyes shot towards the limp form of the blonde woman and she ran towards her.

* * *

Gabrielle woke up later, and found herself lying in Xena's bed. Confused, she wondered about whether if it had all been a dream.

However, when she tried to move, the ache and throbbing all over her body informed her quite immediately that it hadn't been.

As she eased back down while wincing, the door that led to the hall creaked open. Gabrielle watched it with apprehension, only to find herself strangely relieved when she saw Xena's head poking through.

The taller woman, upon seeing her awake went to kneel at the bed's side.

"Gabrielle, I'm sorry… I'm sorry for everything I've done to you..."

Gabrielle opened her mouth to reply, but instead winced again at the sharp pain that the simple movement had sent shooting up the side of her head.

"Here, drink this. My healer said it will help with the pain." Xena handed her a goblet that felt comfortingly warm.

Gabrielle sipped tentatively and began finding the liquid quite agreeable.

She was rather distracted by the fact that Xena looked like she wanted to do and say a few hundred things all at once, but couldn't settle on which one to start on. She could've sworn she saw Xena consciously force most of them away to focus on what mattered first.

"How do you feel?"

"Like I've been trampled by a mob of centaurs." She took a few more sips.

Silence.

"If you'd like… you could… maybe stay in the palace?" Xena, who had been watching her closely, blurted. "I know it's strange, and perhaps too soon to ask… but two of the advising positions are currently open and I feel you are wise enough to account for at least three of my best advisors."

Gabrielle was surprised by the offer. After all that had happened, it didn't seem real.

"What are you going to do with the extra advisor?"

"Kill him." Xena said nonchalantly but, noting the look of shock on Gabrielle face, realized that it was still too soon for jests. She quickly corrected herself. "I'm going to give him a respectable position in another city, most probably."

Gabrielle studied the Empress' tired yet sincere face, and suddenly saw someone different. It was as if she recognized the essence in her, a spirit that she seemed to have been familiar with for lifetimes that have gone by.

"I accept your offer." She bit her lip, hesitating as she watched Xena nodding quietly. "And if you'd like, I can also be a friend." She offered her hand.

A smile edged on Xena's lips, uninhibited and full of gratitude. She took the hand firmly and shook.

"I'd like that, friend."

**THE END**

_Author's notes and replies:_

_The story unfortunately did not unravel the way I had intended to, although I have to admit my stories often take a life of their own. I did have trouble with the two last chapters, I'm not sure if it actually shows, but please feel free to comment openly (as long as you're not slandering me) and discuss other possibilities._

_HAZMOT: Thank you so much for you continuous feedback. I totally adored your reviews and they helped me immensely in seeing whether my story has the effect I intended to or not. Also it helped me see angles that I've totally missed before._

_PAM: What is ppms??_


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